


Afraid

by that_fandomlife



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: A lot of them - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Backstory, First Kiss, First Love, First Time, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I haven't thought of all of them yet haha, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Vampire Bites, Vampire Hunters, Vampire Sex, Vampires, Vampires vs Hunters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-10 04:22:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 59,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15941705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_fandomlife/pseuds/that_fandomlife
Summary: Mingyu, a vampire, gets his leg stuck in a trap while checking the woods for Seunghcoel, his clan leader.There, he meets Xu Minghao, a hunter trained to kill vampires like him.Both of their lives change for the better... or maybe for the worst.





	1. Chapter 1

Mingyu winced as pain continued to shoot up his leg and throughout his entire body.

_“When you’re in the woods, don’t forget to look out for traps. Humans love to set their traps in the woods,” Seungcheol had told him, multiple times._

Well so much for the warning. He looked down and saw that he was, in fact, trapped. A metal clamp with sharp teeth was around his lower leg. It had a tight hold on his leg and dug into the flesh, so he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. His pants tore and blood seeped out of the wound.

This is what he got in return for doing more than what Seungcheol asked him to do.

_Damn it, Mingyu. Why are you so clumsy?_

Mingyu’s enhanced hearing suddenly picked up on footsteps. He looked up and tried to detect where the sound was coming from. He could only conclude that it was getting closer towards him. His hearing also detected a heartbeat. Vampires didn’t have those, so he knew it had to be a human. If they were human, they were checking the trap, which meant they probably had a weapon.

Mingyu was doomed.   

“Shit,” Mingyu said, trying to pull his leg out of the trap, only screaming when his leg hurt even more as his leg moved in the trap.

The footsteps were practically near him now.

Mingyu looked down and saw a pair of feet next to him. He looked up to see who the feet belonged to, and it was then when he saw the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

He was tall, but not as tall as Mingyu, and rather skinny as well. He had brown hair that laid flat on his forehead. He wore a plain black t-shirt with black skinny jeans and running shoes. His brown, doe-like eyes were wide as they landed on Mingyu. He held a wooden stake in his hand.

The two only looked at each other, unable to say any words.

“Vampire,” he whispered.

“Vampire hunter,” Mingyu replied in the same voice.

The two stared at each other, observing.

“H-Hey,” Mingyu said with a shaky voice.

“You’re... You’re actually here. This trap usually doesn’t trap any vampires. This trap is more of a warning to tell vampires to stay away,” he said.

“Well... I’m a special vampire,” Mingyu said.

“You must be a pretty clumsy vampire to stumble into a trap like that. Any vampire would’ve seen it,” he said with a deadpan face.

“Shut up. I’m just… clumsy. I didn’t see the trap,” Mingyu replied.

“You’re a vampire though. Your skills are supposed to help you balance,” He asked, crossing his arms,” Just how years have you been a vampire?”  

“Uh… well, I died when I was about twenty. So um… five years,” Mingyu replied.

“Five years?” He replied with another deadpan face.

“Hey! The traits we have when we’re human carry over when we turn into vampires. No matter how old I live to be, I’ll always be clumsy,” Mingyu said.

“I suppose so,” he eventually agreed.

“Anyway, I know this is a lot to ask but... but could I get some help getting out of this trap?” Mingyu asked.

He narrowed his eyes.

“Why should I?”

“Well for one, this would be a stupid way to die. My clan leader told me to watch out for the traps you guys set, and here I am, trapped,” Mingyu replied.

“I don’t care,” the boy scoffed, “Last time I checked, you vampires are the dangerous ones. You corner innocent humans and drain them of their blood because you’re hungry. We’re more than just food to you guys.”

“I’m not one of those vampires, I promise!” Mingyu exclaimed. “My clan leader tried to get me to do it when I first turned. The first time he took me out to feed from the vein, I couldn’t do it. The thought of feeding on someone that was living and breathing… didn’t settle with me, so I spit out the blood, made the person forget about the whole thing, and told my clan leader that I would only drink from blood bags.”

The boy raised his eyebrow.

“You’re not like the rest of them, are you?”

“I’m not,” Mingyu replied, “I’m clumsy, even with my speed, and I refuse to drink from the vein. It’s been five years since I died and you would think I would know enough of the traps here to _not_ stumble into a trap. How much less of a vampire can I be?”

The boy slightly opened his eyes but continued to stare at Mingyu. Mingyu could tell that his mind and curiosity opened a bit.

“I know you want to believe me,” Mingyu added, “You have that look in your eye.”

He remained silent, and Mingyu knew he couldn’t reply because he didn’t have an answer.

Mingyu then heard footsteps, and he figured the boy did too because he turned around. Mingyu tuned his vampire hearing.

_“Hao hasn’t been back in a while. You think the trap he’s checked has a vampire?”_

_“No way. That trap never catches any vampires.”_

_There was a gasp._

_“Maybe he was attacked. Shit shit shit… Leader Xu really isn’t going to be happy about that.”_

_“We should check on him before something bad happens.”_

Mingyu turned back to the boy.

“I know you’re human, and I know you have your humanity. You have feelings. You have emotion. One of those has to empathy,” Mingyu said, “I’m begging you.”

The boy continued to look at him, and, as well as Mingyu could read others, he couldn’t decipher the look in his eyes. It’s like the emotion in them were locked away behind secured walls. The emotion that was able to slip out was unreadable as if he was having an internal battle with himself.

He stared at Mingyu, raising the stake and holding it towards Mingyu. His hand were shaking as if he was still deciding to finish the deed or not.

Mingyu could hear the footsteps come closer. The boy must have noticed too because he turned and looked at the direction of the footsteps. He then looked back at Mingyu.

“If you’re going to kill me, then do it now,” Mingyu said, “It looks like you’ll have to put on a show soon.”

He hesitated, his hand still shaking as he held the stake over Mingyu’s chest, but this time, Mingyu could see that the secured walls in his eyes were breaking.

He looked around before he quietly groaned. He put down his wooden stake and bent down. Mingyu watched as he turned the trap around and moved parts in different places, trying to memorize the trap in case he got caught in it again.

Just then, the clamp opened. Mingyu’s eyes widened as he looked at the one that set him free. Mingyu looked up to thank him, but the boy only looked away. Mingyu then slowly pulled his leg out. He hissed in pain as the wounds continued to bleed.

“Can you walk?” He asked.

“Y-Yeah, I think so. I just... need some time for my healing to kick in,” Mingyu said.

“Okay,” he said, “I... I can only lead them astray for so long. Please just... leave while you can. If they catch you, they _will_ kill you.”

And with that, he grabbed his stake and started to walk off. Mingyu grabbed his wrist.

“Thank you,” Mingyu said.

The boy gave Mingyu a small smile before he nodded.

“What’s your name?”

His smile dropped.

“You don’t want to know my name.”

“So… I should just call you ‘the cute vampire hunter who saved me’ in my head then?” Mingyu asked.

He visibly froze. Mingyu could hear his breathing quick. He looked away.

“Just forget this ever happened. It’s better we don’t start anything,” he said, “I have to go.”

And with that, he stood up and ran away from Mingyu.

Mingyu blinked before he realized what the boy had told him: he had to get out of there.

He stood up and hissed when pain still coursed up his leg. He looked back and saw that the boy was gone. Mingyu knew he couldn't trust a vampire hunter, Seungcheol had told him they never could, but something about him made Mingyu feel like he could be trusted. Although Mingyu felt that way, it didn’t mean he could stay back. With that thought, he used what he could of his vampire speed and ran off before they could find him.


	2. Chapter 2

Mingyu sighed in relief when he saw the sight of the familiar navy blue mansion in his eyesight. Unlike many mansions, there wasn’t an extravagant driveway or gate to keep out unwelcomed guests. It simply had a cleared path of tall trees that towered over that led to the wooden, front double doors.

It was hidden deep enough in the woods that humans wouldn’t accidentally find it.

He used the last of his strength to walk up the walkway to the house, trying to do so before he could attract unwanted attention. He stumbled into the house and fell onto the floor.

“Mingyu?”

Mingyu then heard a gasp.

“Mingyu!”

He looked up and saw a familiar head of brown hair with brown eyes. He recognized it as Seokmin kneeling down next to him and Chan sitting on the couch by them with wide eyes as he watched the scene unfold.

“What happened?” Seokmin asked.

“Just close the door before anyone sees,” Mingyu grunted.

Seokmin nodded before he turned back to look at Chan.

“Chan, go get Seungcheol and Joshua,” Seokmin told him.

Chan nodded and ran off before Seokmin stood up and walked to the door, closing it and locking it. It was a second later that Mingyu saw Seungcheol and Joshua standing with Chan.

Seungcheol’s eyes widened before he kneeled down next to Mingyu.

“What happened to you?” Seungcheol asked.

“We can ask him later. Just get him to his room,” Joshua said, “I’ll need to look at the wound.”

Seungcheol nodded. He helped Mingyu up onto his shoulder and helped Mingyu walk to his room while Joshua ran off to his room. Seokmin and Chan watched them walk off. Seungcheol pushed his door open and laid him down on his bed. A moment later, Joshua walked in with a blood bag in his hand.

Joshua didn’t waste any time looking over the wound. He lifted Mingyu’s leg and examined the teeth marks that decorated it as Seungcheol stood on the side and watched.

They watched as Joshua’s concerned eyes started to fill with confusion as his eyebrows furrowed.

“It looks like a simple wound from the leg traps the vampire hunters set up, but… those never leave bloody marks like this. You managed to get out of the trap, but your healing should’ve started the moment you got out. It’s strange that you’re still bleeding.”

“You’ve never seen anything like that, Joshua?” Seungcheol asked.

“No. The teeth marks are common. I just… I’ve never seen them take this long to heal,” Joshua said.

“Is this something we should be worried about?” Seungcheol asked.

Joshua thought for a moment as he put down Mingyu’s leg.

“Not right now since Mingyu’s fine,” Joshua replied, “It could just be the fact that he needs some new blood in his system. It _has_ been a while since you’ve fed, Mingyu.”

“That’s true,” Mingyu sheepishly agreed, “It’s been about two weeks.”

“That’s probably it,” Joshua concluded, “Here. Take this.”

He handed the blood bag in his hand to Mingyu. Mingyu’s pupils turned red and his fangs grew in before he ripped the bag open and started to drink the content inside.

He took a few sips before he pulled the blood bag away from his lips.

“Thanks, Joshua.”

“Of course,” Joshua replied, “You know I can and will help you when you need me to.”

Mingyu could agree on that and so could every other vampire that lived with them. Joshua had been a medical student in Seoul when he was human. Since he had died, he learned to understand vampire biology and used that to help them when anything out of the ordinary happened. It was safe for every vampire to say that they could rely on Joshua to save them.

Seungcheol smiled and walked up to them. He wrapped his arms around Joshua, who happily leaned into his embrace.

“You’re a saint,” Seungcheol told him, “Could I get a moment alone with Mingyu? It looks like he’ll be okay now.”

Joshua nodded.

“Of course.”

Joshua leaned on a placed a quick kiss on Seungcheol’s lips. He pulled away before he walked out the door and closed it behind him.

Seungcheol then sat down on Mingyu’s bed as Mingyu put his lips against the opening of the bag and started to drink again.

“He lives,” Seungcheol said.

Mingyu pulled his lips away from the blood bag once again.

“Yeah,” Mingyu said with an embarrassed smile.

“So… what happened exactly?” Seungcheol asked. “When I asked you to check on the area, I didn’t expect you would come back with bleeding wounds.”

“I uh… I was doing what you told me. I was making sure the hunters were under control. I was done, and I was about to head back home, but then I heard some distant footsteps in the woods. They sounded they were coming towards them. I know how much you care about the clan’s safety, being the clan leader and all, so I thought I would go and investigate for you.”

“Oh?” Seungcheol asked.

Mingyu nodded.

“So I walked into the woods. It sounded like they were walking towards me, so I followed the sound,” Mingu continued, “Unfortunately, I was so absorbed into the footsteps that I didn’t notice the trap that was in the path. Once I stepped into it, I remember just… feeling pain shoot up my leg before I fell to the ground. I tried getting out, but… like you said, hunters love their traps and put all of their efforts into making them so they work well, and, this time, they did well, because I couldn’t get out.”

“Wait…,” Seungcheol said with hesitation, “How are you here then? You said you couldn’t get the trap off.”

“Well…,” Mingyu trailed off, “a vampire hunter found me. He helped me out of the trap and distracted the other hunters while I escaped.”

Seungcheol’s eyes widened.

“He just helped you?”

“Yeah.”

“Vampire hunters never do that though; they always use the first opportunity they get to kill us. Why would he help you?”

“I… I’m not sure,” Mingyu admit, “I literally begged him to save me. Either I’m a really good begger or I just happened to catch him on his good side, or… or maybe he had his own reasons for wanting to save me.”

“Maybe his reasons were that he didn’t feel like dragging your corpse across the woods after he killed you,” Seungcheol suggested as Mingyu rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t mean like that,” Mingyu replied.

“I know. I was teasing,” Seungcheol said with a playful smile, “Well, I’m not sure what his motives could be, and I don’t think you know either. I would just be more cautious. You might not be as lucky next time. Understand?”

Mingyu nodded.

“Also, just in case, I’ll be having Seokmin go with you next time I ask you to do this again, just to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Seungcheol added.

“You’re giving me a babysitter?” Mingyu complained.

“You and I both know that Seokmin is your closest friend here, so he’s not necessarily babysitting you. It’s like… having a partner for when you go out. Besides, Seokmin will watch over you just in case. I’ll admit… you’re pretty clumsy for a vampire, Mingyu. We turned him two years after you and he’s had a better grasp of our abilities.”

Mingyu sighed.

“Fine.”

Seungcheol smiled and patted his leg.

“You should stay in here until your healing helps your wounds.”

Mingyu nodded as Seungcheol stood up and started to walk out of the room and close the door behind him. Mingyu sipped from his blood bag, thinking about the hunter that saved him.

Granted, he didn’t tell Seungcheol everything, but it was probably better that way, knowing how he would react if he knew more of the situation.

There was something different about this hunter. Seungcheol had told them that hunters hated them, but Mingyu knew that wasn’t the case for this hunter. He didn’t see any kind of anger or hatred in the hunter’s eyes. The emotion in them always wavered, and Mingyu couldn’t figure out why.

But he knew he had to find out.

As he finished his blood bag, he started to figure out a plan to learn more about this hunter.


	3. Chapter 3

**_“You shouldn't have done that,” the voice in his head said._ **

_ “Well, I did," Minghao told himself. _

**_“You should’ve just left him for one of the other hunters to deal with.”_ **

_ “But I couldn’t just leave him there.” _

**_“Maybe you should’ve. Do you want a repeat of Junhui?”_ **

“So… that’s it? You lost him?” 

Minghao snapped out of his thoughts. He looked up and at his best friend, Soonyoung, who had his eyebrows furrowed. 

“Yeah,” Minghao replied, hoping Soonyoung would fall for his story, “He got out of the trap, somehow. He… He promised to let me live if I let him run away.” 

“But the trap you set is one  _ you _ made and set, and you’re better at making traps than any of us, except your dad, of course. It shouldn’t have let any vampire out,” Soonyoung pointed out. 

“Well… no one’s perfect. Every trap can’t be perfect,” Minghao said with a shrug. 

“But you have a better track record,” Soonyoung replied. 

“Well, I guess my perfect record broke,” Minghao said. 

Soonyoung was ready to reply, but they both looked ahead and saw the edge of the woods. Once they fully emerged from the darkness of the trees, they were faced with their three-story, tan house. They walked towards it, following their group of hunters that they all shared. They stepped onto the driveway and on the walkway. They were the last hunters that walked in, so Soonyoung closed and locked the door. Once they were in the house, they walked to the living room where about twenty other hunters were gathered and sitting on the couches. 

Minghao and Soonyoung sat down as someone loudly clapped. Minghao looked at the head of the living room to see a taller man standing in front of them. His black hair was styled and his seemingly permanent narrowing brown eyes looked at all of them. Slight wrinkles rested on his face. He wore a black leather jacket, black shirt, jeans, and thick boots. 

It was their leader: Leader Xu. 

“How are all the traps? Did any of them catch anything?” Leader Xu asked. 

“We checked all of them,” one of their hunters, Hansol, replied, “None of them had a vampire in them.” 

“Except Hao’s,” Soonyoung pointed out.

He then looked at Minghao.

“At least, that’s what you told me, right?” 

Everyone turned their heads towards Minghao, waiting for an answer. Minghao looked away from everyone eyes and turned his gaze towards the floor.

“Minghao?” Leader Xu asked. 

“Yes?” Minghao asked.

“Come here,” Leader Xu commanded. 

Minghao nodded and stood up from his seat. He walked over to his father and stood in front of him.

“Yes, father?” 

“What did Soonyoung say about you? The trap you checked had caught a vampire, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“If the trap caught a vampire, what did you do with the vampire? Where is its corpse?”

Minghao sighed. 

“Soonyoung’s right,” Minghao replied, “I did see a vampire in my trap, but before I could kill it, it got away.” 

His father’s eyes widened as the rest as the hunters gasped and whispered. Minghao looked away. He could still feel his father’s eyes on him.  

“You’re the best hunter here after me. How do you just ‘lose’ a vampire? I trained you to be better than that,” His father said.

“Well, as well as you trained me, I can’t be perfect,” Minghao replied, looking up at his father.

“Can you explain the blood on your clothes then?” His father asked with narrow eyes. 

Minghao looked down at his brown jacket and white shirt, which was decorated with new red spots.

Minghao thought for a moment.

“Before he ran off, he pinned me to the ground and almost finished me off. I told him I would let him run off if he let me live. He let me go before he left.”

“So you compromised with him?” His father asked.

Minghao nodded.  

“We don’t compromise with vampires. That’s like agreeing with them and sharing a side. We’re not on the same side as those monsters,” his father sneered.

“If my life is on the line, then yes, I do need to compromise,” Minghao replied.  

“I trained you better than to ‘compromise.’ You’re either kill or be killed. That’s what you grew up with,” his father said, “you’re an example to all of the hunters here. You should’ve known better than to do that. You didn’t follow that with this vampire, and because you didn’t, there’s one more vampire out there that can kill us.”

“I know, father, and I’m sorry,” Minghao said with a small bow, “I made a mistake. It won’t happen again.” 

“It better not,” his father said, “or else this vampire or the next vampire you decide to compromise with or decide to be soft for will just be another ‘Junhui,’ and we don’t need anything like that ever again.” 

Minghao slightly winced but slowly nodded.

“Right, father.”

His father sighed. 

“Alright, we’re done for the day. Rest for the evening. Tomorrow, we’ll be practicing and making more traps. I was going to send a couple of you with Minghao to patrol one more time, but it seems like he needs some time off after his incident today, so we’ll see about that. Hansol and Jihoon, you two can start on dinner. I’ll be in our planning room if anyone needs me,” Leader Xu announced.

Everyone nodded and started to disburse. Hansol and Jihoon headed to the kitchen while the others talked to their respective friends. Minghao watched his father walked off before he sighed and walked in the opposite direction towards his room. 

He walked up the stairs and turned into the third door on the left. He closed the door and fell down onto his bed and closed his eyes to help himself calm down. 

He opened his eyes and looked at the familiar tan walls of his room. His room was simple, with only his bed, dresser, and desk, but he still loved it. It was the only space he could truly call his in the house. He moved his fingers against the gray comforter, pillowcases, and bed sheets as he enjoyed the little peace he had. 

Minghao then heard a soft knock at his door. 

“Come in,” he said, sitting up on his bed. 

The door opened to reveal Soonyoung. He changed from his hunting clothes into a green hoodie and a pair of joggers. His black hair was fluffed but nonetheless laid softly on his head. His eyes showed tiredness after the long day. Soonyoung went to sit down next to Minghao on his bed. 

“Hey, Hao,” Soonyoung said.

“Hey,” Minghao replied. 

“How… How are you feeling? Your dad he… he kind of tore you apart out there.” 

“Yeah… I just wish he’d get off of my case sometimes. I know he raised me to be a hunter like him since I was like… twelve, but I’m bound to make mistakes. I’m bound to break the rules and find new ways to solve problems. I just don’t understand why he won’t try to understand that.” 

“I get it, Hao. It’s just that… with your dad, those are the only ways he knows how to deal with them. He’s been doing this longer than any of us, so he understands how to do this better than any of us. He only knows those ways,” Soonyoung replied, “I guess those are the only ways he knows how to get rid of them. He’s never led us into the wrong… so it’s something right.”

Minghao sighed in frustration. 

“I know. I just wish he’d stop taking it out on me.” 

“I feel like he does because you’re his son,” Soonyoung suggested, “He wants you to be like him.” 

“But I never will be,” Minghao said, noticing Soonyoung’s confused face, “I mean… not to that extent. Never to that extent.”

“You never know. We’re still at a pretty young age. Maybe you’ll want to do all of this one day,” Soonyoung pointed out.

“It’s not likely, but people can hope.”

Soonyoung sighed then nodded.

“Okay,” Soonyoung said, “Well, dinner’s almost done. Did you want to go eat?”

“No, I’m fine. I lost my appetite,” Minghao replied. 

“Well, okay,” Soonyoung said, “I’ll save some food for you just in case.” 

Minghao nodded as Soonyoung rubbed his back in comfort before he stood up. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. 

With a sigh, Minghao fell onto his bed and let the world turn dark before him.


	4. Chapter 4

Seokmin was Mingyu’s closest friend. He really was. There were times that Seokmin challenged that when he made Mingyu sit down and have movie marathons with him. Mingyu could’ve easily said no, but with the way Seokmin asked with his pleading and his puppy eyes, Mingyu found it hard to say no. 

They finished their (what it felt like) millionth movie, and Mingyu felt like he was going to go crazy if he had to watch another movie of some people racing cars or some crazy man save a woman who was dangling over a cliff. Instead of putting another movie on like Seokmin insisted, he turned off the tv. 

“Mingyu,” Seokmin whined, “We still have…” 

Seokmin started to count on his fingers.

“… five more Fast and Furious movies to watch,” Seokmin said, holding up his counted fingers, “Plus, we have yet to start the Mission Impossible movies.” 

“We’ve been watching them for the past six hours. I really don’t understand how anyone can just sit and watch movie after movie. I need a break,” Mingyu said with a sigh.

“Fine, just a small break,” Seokmin said, “I’m going to go get a blood bag. You want one?” 

Mingyu shook his head, and with that, Seokmin stood up from his place on the couch. He walked towards the doorway in the hallway and disappeared into the hallway. 

When Mingyu was left alone, his thoughts trailed over to the one that saved him. He started to wonder why the hunter saved him. Mingyu was the one stuck in the trap and he was the one that was standing over him with a weapon in his hand. He had the opportunity, so why didn’t take it?

Something was different about him; Mingyu knew there had to be.

He needed answers. Plus, he didn’t mind seeing the cute hunter again. Something about him intrigued Mingyu. 

With that thought in mind, he stood up and walked towards the front door. He slipped on his black hoodie before proceeding to put on his black vans. 

“Where are you going?” 

Mingyu looked up and saw Seungcheol and Seokmin looking at him from the kitchen. Seokmin was standing by the island, drinking from a blood bag, and Seungcheol was sitting in one of the stools next to him, now looking at Mingyu with narrowed eyes. 

“I… I’m going out to… to check… the woods.” 

Seungcheol raised an eyebrow. 

“The same woods where that hunter almost killed you?” 

“Yes. I just… I want to improve my focus, so when I go to patrol next time, I won’t stumble into any of them.”

“Are you sure you want to do that by yourself? I’m sure Seokmin can go with you,” Seungcheol insisted. 

“No, it’s fine. I would rather try this by myself. I want to learn to do this by myself so I don’t have to be so dependent. I’m going to get older, even as a vampire. I don’t always want to be babied,” Mingyu replied.

Seungcheol sighed. 

“Fine, but be extra careful. We don’t need a repeat of next time. Even if you sense that something is wrong, you run, okay?” Seungcheol instructed. 

“Okay,  _ dad _ ,” Mingyu said. 

Seungcheol gave a playful smile. 

“Go.” 

Before Mingyu could run out, Seokmin’s voice stopped him.

“What about our small break and our movie marathon?” Seokmin asked, holding the half empty blood bag in his hands.

“We can continue after I come back. Besides, I need to go run and stretch my legs. I’ll be back as fast as I can,” Mingyu said.

Seokmin sighed then nodded. Seungcheol then turned back to talk to Seokmin, and Mingyu walked out the door and sped through the woods. Once he reached the where the trap was, he took a deep breath. He started to walk forward again. 

The place then became familiar the more he walked, and before he knew it, he saw the same trap that his leg was caught in the week before. This time, it was cleaned of any blood and laid in the same place it was as before. 

Mingyu really started to wonder how he stumbled into a trap that laid wide open. 

He snarled at it, his eyes flashing red before he heard footsteps walking towards him. He went to hide behind a tree. Mingyu continued to watch as the footsteps moved towards him. Mingyu then saw that it was the same hunter that saved him. His fluffy brown hair laid on his forehead, his brown jacket clung to his gray t-shirt which matched his light-washed blue jeans. His brown eyes intently looked at the trap. 

He wasn’t paying attention to anything around him, so Mingyu knew he had the chance to talk to him. It almost scared him, knowing he was about to talk to the same hunter that killed him a week ago, bit Mingu was someone that took chances, so this was something he was willing to risk. 

Mingyu stepped towards the hunter.

“Excuse me?” 

The hunter looked up at him, and Mingyu swore he’d never seen eyes that had a sparkle like his. 

“What… What are you doing here?” He asked, holding the stake that was hanging from his belt. 

“I… I’m here for you,” Mingyu said, “I wanted to thank you… again, for letting me live last week.” 

“You’re… welcome,” he shyly replied, turning his gaze to the ground, “It was the least I could do.”

Minghao then looked around before he turned to look at Mingyu. 

“You shouldn’t be here. The other hunters are out here, and they’re not as merciful as me.”

“But I want to stay here and talk to you.” 

“No, you don’t.”

“And why’s that?”

Minghao sadly laughed. 

“You don’t want to be affiliated with me, much less talk to me. I’m not a safe person for you to be with.”

“I don’t believe that,” Mingyu replied, “You saved me from that trap last week. No other vampire hunter would’ve done what you did. If it were any other vampire hunter, I’d be dead. You’re not like them. You’re different; I know you are.” 

Minghao stayed silent, so Mingyu took the opportunity to talk. 

“If you really worried about me, then we can go talk somewhere else.”

Minghao then raised an eyebrow. 

“So… are you asking me out on a date?”

Mingyu’s eyes widened before he looked away. 

“I didn’t think vampires could blush,” the hunter said, his tone laced with sarcasm.

“Well, I didn’t mean it in that way. I just want to talk to you,” Mingyu replied, “So… will you meet me? We can go to this cafe that has good coffee. It’s hidden and fairly busy, so you won’t be spotted by any of your hunter friends.”

Minghao looked around wearily before he looked at the ground and thought for a moment. 

“I just want to get to know you more. I don’t have anything else planned. I promise,” Mingyu said.

The hunter sighed before he looked up. 

“Okay,” Minghao said, “Later tonight, at 8:00? I have… some things to do before then.” 

“Yes, of course,” Mingyu said with a quick nod, “Could I get your number? I’ll text you the address.”

Minghao nodded before he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Once the two exchanged contact information, Minghao looked at his phone screen and smiled before he put it back into his pocket and turned away. A second later, Minghao looked back before he turned to Mingyu again. 

“Well, it looks like there’s nothing in this trap. If I’m here any longer, they’ll think I caught something and come to find me, and I’ll just have a repeat of what happened last week, so I should go,” the hunter said, “I’ll see you tonight, Mingyu.” 

“See you later, Minghao,” Mingyu said.

Minghao smiled before he turned around and started to walk away in the opposite direction.

Mingyu started to walk away with excitement running through his body. 

He was already excited for tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

Mingyu was waiting at a table near the back of the restaurant. He had two cups of coffee sitting on the table for both him and Minghao. Whenever the door opened, he looked up to see if it was Minghao, but every time, he was disappointed to see it was someone else.

Mingyu checked the wall clock that hung on the wall above the table. 

8:15. 

_ We agreed on 8:00, right? _

Mingyu was starting to wonder if Minghao was caught up in something, if he texted the wrong address, or if he even decided to show up at all.

The door opened again, pulling Mingyu out of his thoughts. He looked up to see that Minghao had finally walked in. Mingyu noticed that he’d changed from earlier that day. Now, he was wearing a simple red sweater, black skinny jeans, and white converse with his brown hair fluffed and laying on his forehead. 

Minghao looked around for a moment before he met Mingyu’s eyes. He looked around before he started to walk over to the table. Once he reached the table, he sat down in the chair across from Mingyu. 

“Hey,” Minghao greeted.

“Hey,” Mingyu replied, “You actually came out. I was starting to worry you stood me up.” 

“You’re a vampire. I think you have bigger worries besides being stood up by a human,” Minghao lightly joked, “But in all seriousness, I’m sorry I’m late. My father had some… things he wanted to talk to me about.”

“It’s fine,” Mingyu said, “I’m just unusually punctual. I was like that when I was a human too. It just came with me when I turned too.”

“Oh,” Minghao said, “If you don’t mind me asking, how and why did you turn?” 

“In all honesty, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I was walking back to my apartment from my school when I saw a vampire feeding on a human. They saw me and told me to keep my mouth shut. I promised; I did keep it a secret, but I guess that drew in some unwanted attention. The vampire that made me swear to secrecy, who I learned was our town’s vampire clan leader, Choi Seungcheol, told me that some out of town vampires knew that I knew of their existence, and that’s something they didn’t want simply because I knew too much.” 

“He offered to bring me to his clan house to keep me safe until they could figure out a situation, but by then, it was too late. They found us on the street, walking to the house, and before he could do anything to stop them, they fed from me and left me for dead.”

“By then, I’d already lost too much blood. Seungcheol thought it wasn’t right me for me to die when I held up my end of the promise, so he carried me to his clan home and turned me. I don’t remember dying, but I remember waking up again and seeing all my senses were enhanced and feeling a new hunger I had to satisfy.” 

“Weren’t your parents worried about you?” Minghao asked.

Mingyu shook his head. 

“I came out as gay to my parents when I was still in high school. They said I ‘disgraced’ their name and ‘didn’t deserve’ to be their son anymore. Since I was still a minor at the time, they continued to house me and provide for me, but our relationship was still severed, so we barely talked anymore. Hell, they didn’t even attend my graduation ceremony. Once I got back home from my ceremony, they told me I had a day to pack all of my things and move out. They said they never wanted to see me again, so, in a sense, my parents disowned me the second I was legal.” 

“Oh,” Minghao said, “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“It’s okay. What happens, happens. We can’t control things like that. Besides, I would say my life got better when I left my parents. I was in university and learning about stuff I loved, and then I was turned into a vampire. I do enjoy being one, so it’s not all bad.”

“Wow,” Minghao said, “That… That doesn’t sound bad at all.” 

“Yeah,” Mingyu said, “What about your parents?” 

Minghao’s eyes widened before he looked away.

“I uh… I have a rough family life; it’s even worse than yours, and I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Oh,” Mingyu said, “I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t know,” Minghao replied. 

“I can understand that though. I won’t make you share that with me,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao looked up and gave Mingyu a small smile.

“Thanks.”

Mingyu nodded and smiled back. 

The two continued to talk. Mingyu noticed that, while he was sharing probably one too many details about his life, Minghao continued to stay quiet and listen. Whenever Mingyu asked him questions about his life, he simply stated that he was a trained vampire hunter and that there wasn’t that much more to him.

Mingyu knew there had to be more, but he knew that there had to be respect for boundaries, so he didn’t pursue them.

It was two hours later when they were sitting in the same place with empty coffee cups and more conversations.

“You did what?” Minghao asked with a small laugh. 

“I broke my friend’s, Wonwoo’s, laptop,” Mingyu admit, “It was when I first turned, I was still learning how to control my speed and strength. So when I was running through the house, I ran into the table that his laptop was sitting on. It fell over, and, of course, I freaked out. I tried to pick it up and fix it, but I also didn’t have complete control over my strength, so I uh… squished it.”

“Oh no,” Minghao said with a small laugh. 

“‘Oh no’ is right. Wonwoo didn’t react too well to that. He’s the strategist of our clan, so all of his strategies and plans for vampires and humans were on that laptop. He told Seungcheol, and because of that, Seungcheol also got mad at me. His wrath would’ve been much worse if Jeonghan wasn’t there to calm him down.”

“Who’s Jeonghan?” Minghao asked. 

Mingyu realized he brought up Jeonghan’s name. He let out a nervous laugh and looked away. 

“Now there’s something I can’t talk about,” Mingyu said, “It’s better if I didn’t say.” 

“Oh, okay,” Minghao said. 

“Anyway, it’s good Seungcheol’s anger wasn’t too explosive. Wonwoo did a good amount of gaming on his laptop too, so he was already extremely mad at me for breaking his ‘baby’,” Mingyu continued, “But he bought a new one soon after, and it works even better than his last one. Plus, all of his strategies and plans were backed up too so Seungcheol’s anger subdued as well.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Minghao said.

Mingyu smiled and nodded in agreement.

Just then, Mingyu watched Minghao reach for his phone. He pulled it out, press on the screen, and put it up to his ear. 

“Hello?”

Mingyu watched as Minghao listened. Minghao’s smile dropped as he nodded. 

Mingyu knew he could easily tune his vampire hearing and listen to what was being said, but a good part of Mingyu’s humanity stayed intact even after he turned. He still understood that there was a boundary for privacy, so he kept his hearing down and waited for Minghao to finish his phone call.

“Yes,” Minghao said with a nod, “Yes, I understand.” 

Minghao nodded again. 

“Okay. I’ll be home soon. Bye.” 

Minghao brought his phone away from his ear and put it back in his pocket before he sighed.

“That was my father. I um… I have to go.” 

“Oh,” Mingyu said, trying to push away the disappointment, “Can I walk you home?” 

“You shouldn’t,” Minghao said, “I mean, you don’t need to.”

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, it’s getting dark outside, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” Mingyu replied. 

Minghao turned away, and Mingyu was sure that his face was flushed red before he turned away. Minghao turned back and eventually nodded. 

“Okay.”

Mingyu beamed before he stood up. Mingyu grabbed their coffee cups as Minghao stood up from his chair. They walked over to the counter where Mingyu put the coffee cups before they walked out. Once Minghao pointed in the direction of his house, they started walking together.

“I’m somewhat surprised to see you share so much about yourself,” Minghao said. 

“I’m a pretty open person. I don’t mind sharing stuff like that,” Mingyu replied. 

“Interesting,” Minghao said.

“And you’re not?” Mingyu asked. 

“No… I just… I can’t,” Minghao said, “There’s too much about me that I can’t and shouldn’t say.” 

“Will you, though? One day?” Mingyu asked. 

“Maybe,” Minghao said with a sigh, “It’s better that you didn’t know anyway.”

“Why?” Mingyu asked.

“Some things are better left unsaid.” 

Mingyu knew it wasn’t the time to pursue. It wasn’t long until Minghao grabbed Mingyu’s wrist and stopped him. Mingyu looked down at Minghao.

“I live down this street. I can walk on my own from here. It’s better you didn’t walk any closer anyway,” Minghao said. 

“Right,” Mingyu said, “I had a great time with you today.”

“I did too,” Minghao said with a small smile.

“Will I see you again?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao thought for a moment.

“Sure,” Minghao said, “I um… I take classes at the university in Seoul. I’ll be done with class at 3:00 if you want to meet me there.” 

“Of course I want to,” Mingyu said, “I’ll… see you soon?” 

“Yeah.” 

Minghao waved before he walked off. Mingyu watched him walk off before he did himself. 

Mingyu kept his smile to himself, knowing he could already feel himself falling.


	6. Chapter 6

Mingyu couldn’t stop thinking about his time with Minghao. 

Minghao was someone he knew was human and not vengeful like the rest of the hunters, but Mingyu could see that he often closed himself off. He never talked about himself and always offered Mingyu to tell more about himself.

Mingyu could tell by the look in his eyes that there was more to him. He knew because Minghao had a look that he couldn’t read. Mingyu was good at reading people, so this was different for him. He could tell by the look of him that Minghao was in a constant internal battle of mixed emotions.

Mingyu wanted to know why he was like that and if there was any way he could fix that. 

Minghao intrigued Mingyu. Even when he was a human, he was always curious; he wanted to know everything. Since he turned, that had been heightened, and since he met Minghao, all he wanted to do was open his walls and learn why he was closed off and why his face was unreadable.

“Mingyu?” 

Mingyu snapped out of his thoughts. He looked back and saw Seokmin standing in the doorway of his room.

“Yes?” 

“Seungcheol wants us to go out and check the perimeter for Wonwoo. He said that Wonwoo went out to look through the woods again to make sure everything in his laptop is up to date.”

“I don’t think we need to go out. He’s probably still out there. It probably takes a long time.”

“Seungcheol said he went out hours ago, and that he hasn’t heard back yet. Wonwoo’s never out for that long.”

“Oh,” Mingyu said, his worry heightening, “Is Chan ready to go out? Or maybe ask any of the other vampires? 

“Seungcheol said he isn’t ready yet. He’s still trying to control his speed and strength, not to mention that he doesn’t have good control over his hunger yet either,” Seokmin replied, “And the rest of the vampires went out to feed.”

Mingyu could understand that. He remembered when he first turned and was still trying to grasp his new abilities along with trying to keep his hunger under control. He was terrified because Seungcheol had told him many stories about the hunters, so it wasn’t like he wanted to go outside anyway. But still, Mingyu could still remember the struggle of trying to smoothly transition from human to vampire and wondered how Chan was dealing with it.

And, of course, the other vampires were out. A lot of the vampires liked to feed from the vein, so they spend many nights doing so. Either that, or they went out to places to hang out with humans, such as clubs. Seungcheol was a rather laid back leader, so he didn’t stop them from doing so.

“Oh, right. Okay.”

He followed Seokmin out of his room and followed him to the front door. Once they put their shoes on, they opened the door and stepped outside. They then ran off towards the perimeter of the hunters. 

Once at the border, they stopped. Mingyu used his sight to see if he could spot Wonwoo, but he was nowhere within his sight. 

“I don’t see him. Do you?” Mingyu asked. 

“No,” Seokmin said, “He must have gone inside.” 

“He wouldn’t have. Wonwoo knows better than to not go in their territory, alone,” Mingyu replied. 

“He’s not out here, so he has to be in there,” Seokmin said, “Let’s just hurry before the hunters find him before we do.”

Mingyu sighed before he nodded and followed Seokmin into the woods. The two walked around and examined the area, trying to see if Wonwoo left any trails, but neither of them saw anything. They knew they couldn’t call out for Wonwoo in fear they’d attract a hunter, so they continued to sneak around trees and hope they’d see him in their eye line. 

“Gyu.” 

Mingyu looked at Seokmin, who was pointing ahead of them. Mingyu followed his finger. His eyes widened when he saw Wonwoo leaning against a tree. He had streaks of blood on his face along with new blood stains on his clothes from a seeming bullet wound on his body. His eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy as he continued to lean against the tree for support. 

Mingyu and Seokmin ran over to Wonwoo. They bent over and looked over his body for any injuries. 

“Wonwoo,” Mingyu whispered. 

Wonwoo opened his eyes and set his eyes on Mingyu and Seokmin.

“Mingyu… Seokmin,” Wonwoo breathed. 

“What happened? Why are you still out here? Why haven’t you started healing yet?” Mingyu asked, firing questions at him.

“I… I don’t know,” Wonwoo said before he groaned, “I was looking around and making sure everything in my laptop was up to date. Then I saw a hunter. He shot me with a dart… and it had something in it. It… It slowed down my healing. Another hunter must have shot me with a bullet because I can feel it moving in me.” 

“It looks like both of the hunters got a good shot, so… how are you still alive?” Seokmin asked, “They could’ve killed you.” 

“They could’ve, but they didn’t. I… I don’t really remember why. Whatever he shot me with, it made my head fuzzy. I just remember waking up here,” Wonwoo replied.

“Strange,” Seokmin said, “Regardless, we should get you out of here before they try anything else. We should also have Joshua look you over and maybe he can figure out what happened to you.”

Mingyu nodded. He put an arm around Wonwoo and helped him up. Mingyu walked ahead and led them out of the woods. Seokmin walked behind them and looked out for any hunters that could be following them.

Once they reach their house, Mingyu reached out and opened the door. Once they walked in, they saw Seungcheol talking with Chan, who was drinking from a blood bag. Seungcheol turned to see where the noise came from, but the thought went away when he saw Wonwoo. He jumped up from the couch and started to examine his body. 

“What happened to him?” Seungcheol asked as Chan watched with wide eyes. 

“He was attacked, but he doesn’t really remember what exactly happened,” Mingyu replied. 

“Get him to his room. I’ll go get Joshua,” Seungcheol told them.

The two nodded before Seungcheol ran off. Mingyu then helped Wonwoo to his room while Seokmin followed them. Once they reached his room, Mingyu then laid Wonwoo down on his bed. It wasn’t long until Seungcheol came in with Joshua and Chan following him. 

"He was shot with a bullet, Shua," Mingyu informed. 

Joshua walked to Wonwoo’s side as Mingyu and Seokmin stepped back. Joshua took out medical tweezers and started to reach into Wonwoo's abdomen. Wonwoo started to wince in pain as Joshua tried to pull the bullet out. Wonwoo then let out a cry of pain and relief as Joshua pulled the bullet out and dropped it into a bowl he had with him.

He then put the tweezers down and started to examine Wonwoo’s head.

“You don’t remember what happened?” Joshua asked. 

“Not fully,” Wonwoo said, “I only remember walking into the woods and running into a hunter. I was ready to fight or run, whatever I needed to do, but he shot me with something. Everything after that is a bit fuzzy.”  

Joshua then examined the blood on his face. It was a second later that Joshua’s eyes flashed red and his fangs grew in. They disappeared before he lifted his head. 

“This is human blood on your face,” Joshua said, “You might have gotten into a fight with him, but there’s no way to tell if you can’t remember.”

“Is there anything you can do to figure out what the hunter shot Wonwoo with?” Seungcheol asked. 

“Maybe… but there’s also a chance that I can’t,” Joshua replied, “This somewhat reminds me of Mingyu when he came back. Mingyu’s healing was out of whack and Wonwoo’s healing and memory were knocked out. 

Joshua paused.

“The hunters might be up to something, something that can be lethal to us.”

“Is this something you’re sure about? I don’t want to tell all of the vampires and scare them,” Seungcheol said. 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense right now. They’ve been trying to get rid of vampires for years,” Joshua replied.

“Can you figure it out before we have to find out the hard way?” Mingyu asked. 

“I hope so,” Joshua said with a sigh, “Meanwhile, I’ll have to examine you some more, Wonwoo, to see if I can get any traces of it out of your blood so I can study it.”

“Let’s leave them alone for a bit then,” Seungcheol said, leading Chan out of the room. 

“Is Wonwoo going to be okay?” Chan asked. 

“Wonwoo’s going to be fine,” Seungcheol said with a small smile as he led Chan out of the room, “Meanwhile, Mingyu and Seokmin, go feed. If the hunters are really planning something, I want you two to be at your top strength.” 

Mingyu and Seokmin nodded. They walked out of Wonwoo’s room and towards the kitchen to grab a blood bag.


	7. Chapter 7

Mingyu looked at himself in the mirror one more time. 

He was wearing a maroon wool sweater and black jeans. His brown hair was gelled up. He turned in the mirror again to make sure he looked at least presentable. 

He didn’t know why, but he had the desire to look good when he saw Minghao. He never cared about what others thought about him, but he cared what Minghao thought and wanted to impress him. He hoped that, through all the hidden layers of Minghao, that Minghao thought nicely of him. 

He took a deep breath before he walked out of his room. To his luck, Seungcheol and Seokmin were helping Chan with his bloodlust, and Joshua and Wonwoo were doing more tests. The rest of the vampires were doing their own thing and didn’t even bother to ask Mingyu what he was up to, so he was able to sneak out without anyone questioning him. 

He stepped outside. He looked in the opposite direction before he ran off. Once he saw the colorful blurs of houses instead of the foresty green of the trees, he changed his direction and sped towards Minghao’s school. 

Mingyu loved the feeling of running. That was one of his favorite parts of being a vampire. He loved running as a human, and now that it was enhanced, he loved it even more. It was freeing, being a former busy and stressed university student, so he loved that running made him feel like he was free from his responsibilities and free to do what he pleased. 

He stopped when he saw Minghao’s school in his eyesight. He walked the last block before he stood in front of the school and scanned the area, looking for Minghao. 

He smiled when he laid his eyes on the familiar lanky boy. He was wearing a gray cardigan over a white t-shirt, dark-washed jeans, and white canvas shoes. His brown hair was laying on his forehead and looked especially fluffy. He was sitting at one of the tables, typing away on a laptop. As Mingyu watched him, watching him type and flip through a book, he looked… like a normal human. Mingyu could almost mistake him for a normal university student and not a vampire hunter.

Mingyu walked up to him and slid into the seat next to him. 

“So, you’re a university student by day and vampire hunter by night?” 

Minghao looked up. His eyes widened before he let a smile make its way to his face. 

“Oh, hey,” Minghao softly said, “And… yeah, I guess you could say that.” 

“Ah,” Mingyu replied, “What are you working on now?” 

“A paper. It has to be four pages, and I only have a page done. It’s due tomorrow, so I’m rushing to finish it now,” Minghao told him before turning to his laptop. 

“I remember that life. I had the best tendency to procrastinate too, so it’s not just you,” Mingyu said, “You know, when I was in school, I was majoring in psychology.” 

Minghao stopped typing and looked up at him. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” Mingyu said. 

“I never would’ve guessed that,” Minghao said.

“No one could, apparently,” Mingyu said, “Not many people can catch onto it, but I’m good at reading people and figuring out their emotions. I wanted to be a therapist because I wanted to help people, but, you know, that didn’t work out, obviously.” 

Mingyu gave him a cheeky smile, and Minghao laughed. 

“So, what are you majoring in?” Mingyu asked.

“Fashion design with a minor in photography,” Minghao said.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I um… I’ve always been interested in that kind of thing,” Minghao explained, “Well, since high school, at least.”

“So you design your own clothes and take your own pictures?” Mingyu asked. 

“Yeah,” Minghao replied.

“Could… Could you show me any of your designs or your pictures?” Mingyu carefully asked.

Minghao raised his eyebrows.

“You… You actually want to see them?”

“Of course,” Mingyu said, “That sounds really cool to me. I want to see and know more of you, so I can know more about you.” 

Minghao thought for a moment. 

“You won’t judge too harshly?” 

“I won’t. I promise.” 

Minghao thought for another moment. He eventually put away his paper for the time being and opened up a folder on his laptop. 

Mingyu watched as different designs showed up on the screen. He listened as Minghao explained the different designs, the inspiration behind them, and what he wanted the clothes to say about the person.

He then went on to his folder of pictures he had taken. Mingyu was amazed to see the artsiness of the pictures and how carefully Minghao took the picture to ensure that it was perfect. 

At first, Mingyu could see how nervous he was to tell someone about something so dear to him, but the more Minghao talked, the more confident he became. Minghao would often look up to see if Mingyu was still listening, which he was. It was then when there’d be a new spark in Minghao’s eyes. Mingyu also started to notice that Minghao’s voice would squeak when he was especially excited about a design, which Mingyu thought was cute. 

If Minghao was talking like this, Mingyu knew he could listen to Minghao all day.

“These are really amazing,” Mingyu said, looking through all the pictures once again, “Have you always designed clothes or taken pictures, or is this something you picked up on?” 

“I picked up on it. My life… it’s not the greatest life. Now, it’s become manageable, but a couple of years ago, I was at a very low point, and I needed a distraction from it. I was still in high school, so I was trying out different things. Photography and fashion design are what stuck with me the most. When I graduated, I decided to go to school for it.”

“That’s really cool and really impressive,” Mingyu replied, “I hope you get more recognition for all of this. They really deserve to be seen by the rest of the world.”

“Maybe one day,” Minghao said with a shrug and a shy smile.

Mingyu gave Minghao a small smile before he gently bumped Minghao’s shoulder with his.

“I never would’ve guessed that you were a fashionista and a photographer under that vampire hunter layer.”

“No one would’ve. I can’t exactly share this with any of the hunters either, so you’re really the first person I showed any of this to.” 

“Why can’t you show any of the other hunters?” 

“They wouldn't understand,” Minghao simply replied. 

“Why?”

Before Minghao could answer, Minghao’s phone went off. He sighed then reached for his phone. He answered it before he brought the phone up to his ear.

“Hello?” 

Mingyu watched as Minghao slowly became frustrated with the person on the phone. 

He wondered what was happening and almost wanted to listen, but he had a feeling Minghao would catch onto him and be upset at him, and that’s the last thing he wanted, so Mingyu sat silently and tried to occupy himself so he wouldn’t be tempted to listen in. 

“I get it, father. I’ll be home as soon as I can,” Minghao said. 

He brought the phone away from his ear before put his phone in his pocket.

“I should get going now,” he closed his laptop and started to put his stuff in his backpack. 

“Who were you on the phone with?” Mingyu asked. 

“My father,” Minghao replied, “He wants me at home.”

“Oh, okay,” Mingyu said, “I’ll… see you when I see you?”

“Um… yeah.” 

Minghao then stood up. He put on his backpack before he walked off. 

Mingyu, to say the least, was confused. He thought he was getting somewhere with. Minghao never spoke about himself, and mere seconds ago, he did. It was like there was another side to Minghao that Mingyu never knew of. It was a side that he wanted to know more of.

Instead, a Minghao that left him was closed off all over again, and it was all because of a phon call Mingyu decided not to listen in on, out of respect.

Mingyu started to wondered what happened in that phone call that changed the Minghao who was excited to talk about fashion and photography… to a Minghao that closed himself off all over again.


	8. Chapter 8

Minghao reached the steps of the place that was supposed to be his home. He knew what was coming, but he was never prepared for it. It was worse than facing a hungry vampire. He would rather face a hundred hungry vampires than to face his father when he was angry. 

He reached the front door. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what could be waiting for him on the other side of the door. He took another deep breath before he reached out for the door handle. He pulled it and opened the door. 

He saw Seungkwan and Soonyoung sitting at the dining table in the kitchen. The rest, he assumed, were sent out to check their traps. Hansol were nowhere to be seen, but Minghao just figured he was just resting from his injuries. 

They were finishing some last preparations for dinner as Minghao walked in. Minghao then saw his father sitting on the couch as if he were waiting for him. 

“Father,” Minghao greeted. 

His father turned and glared at him. 

He stood up. 

“Come here.” 

MInghao quickly nodded before he walked over to his father. It was then when he heard footsteps leaving the kitchen, leaving the two alone. 

“Minghao,” his father, started off, “Where were you? I believe patrolling and checking the traps doesn’t take the entire day.”

“It doesn’t. I was… I was just… s-setting up n-new ones,” Minghao said with a shaky stutter, “t-the old ones are… are in bad shape.” 

Minghao tapered off; he cursed at himself. Minghao could tell his father knew that he was lying. Minghao was already preparing himself for the worst. 

“I expect the truth from you, Minghao,” Leader Xu said. 

“That is the truth,” Minghao said.

“Stop lying,” Leader Xu hissed. 

“I’m not,” Minghao replied. 

His father’s eyes widened before they filled with rage. He towered over Minghao, and Minghao was ready to submit and apologize, but he knew that his father wouldn’t be that forgiving. Minghao knew it would be more worth it to stand up for himself.

“When will you learn to tell the truth, boy?” His father sneered. 

“When you learn to treat me like your son and not like a soldier that’s defying your orders,” Minghao fought back.

“You know you don’t deserve that treatment. You don’t deserve to be treated like my son until you act like my son,” his father replied. 

“It’s hard to act like your son when the many things you do are disgraceful. How can I be your son if you’re going to act like this. How can I act like your son when you basically sent Hansol to his death yesterday?”

“Minghao-”

“Hansol shouldn’t have been in that fight with that vampire. He’s still learning how to hunt, and yet, you forced him to go out and fight because that vampire stepped a foot in our area. Hansol was on fed on by a vampire and is hurt because of you. He’s only alive because I stepped in and was able to stall the vampire. If I had stepped in any later, that vampire would’ve killed him. Stop telling our guys to start fights you know they won’t win.”

“He needs to learn if he’s going to survive.” 

“Maybe he needs to learn from a better teacher.”

His father glared at him. It was a moment later that Minghao felt the contact on his cheek. His head turned with the contact. His father pulled his hand away. Minghao gasped before he grabbed his cheek, not even bothering to look up at his father.

“Leave. Tomorrow, if you’re not back here before evening, you’ll be getting worse than a slap to the face.”

Minghao nodded before he gave his father a small bow and walked out of the room. He walked up the stairs to his room. Before he reached his room, he saw Soonyoung blocking his way.   

“Let me treat your bruise,” Soonyoung said, “It’ll heal faster if I help it.” 

Minghao couldn't even reply before Soonyoung led him to the bathroom. Minghao sat on the toilet seat while Soonyoung grabbed a washcloth, ointment, and an ice pack. Soonyoung started to gently rub at Minghao’s cheek with the dampened washcloth.

“It’s getting harder to cover for you,” Soonyoung said, “Your dad’s starting to suspect that you’re doing something else other than setting up traps and patrolling.”

“I know. This,” Minghao said, motioning to the bruise, “is a sign.”

Soonyoung sighed before he put the washcloth down. He put some ointment on Minghao’s cheek before instructing Minghao to put the ice pack on his cheek.

“Maybe... Maybe you should drop your classes before your dad finds out. You know what’ll happen if he finds out. You know he wants you to take over when he’s done.”

“I know,” Minghao said, fixing the position of the ice pack, “But maybe I don’t want to, and maybe I won’t take the position when it’s offered to me, and because I don’t want to do it, it’s a risk I’m willing to take. ”

"But Minghao... you’re risking a lot by hiding this much from him.  He might quite literally kill you if he finds out that you’re going to school to learn and escape. If he finds out, he’ll never let you leave.”

“Well... my dad doesn’t deserve me here as a son anyway, after how much of a shit storm my life became after he started all of this.”

“He started it because of your mom, Minghao,” Soonyoung said with a sigh, ”You know that.”

“I know my mom wouldn’t have wanted anything like this,” Minghao replied, “I know he did this to honor her memory… but, if anything, it’s destroying her memory. She was a peacemaker. She didn’t go out and cause trouble. She fixed it.” 

“Isn’t that why she’s gone now?” Soonyoung softly asked.

Minghao froze before he shook his head. 

“No. She did her job correctly,” Minghao said, “My father is the reason why.” 

“Maybe this is your dad’s way of honoring her. He really did love her, you know,” Soonyoung said. 

“I know he did, but he changed since she… she left. He’s not the ‘dad’ that loved her anymore.”

Soonyoung sighed again. He knew better than to try to reason with Minghao, so he stopped and continued to check on Minghao’s bruise. Once Soonyoung saw it would be treated, he started to clean up the bathroom. 

“I’ll end it with this. Just… Just remember what they did to your mom and my dad and that your dad has a reason for the things he does,” Soonyoung said, “Anyway, I’m going to go check on Hansol. You want to come with?” 

Minghao nodded, and with that, he followed Soonyoung out of the bathroom and towards Hansol’s room.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a free day for Mingyu. He had finished his duties early, which left him with nothing to do. 

He didn’t know where anyone else was. All he knew was that Seokmin was out on the streets, feeding, and that Seungcheol was with Joshua and requested not to be disturbed (the entire clan knew what that meant so Mingyu knew it was better than to bother him). He didn’t know where the rest of his clan was. 

Mingyu thought it would be a good time to visit Minghao. He knew it had only been a day, but he already missed talking to the hunter. He was a person with a calm demeanor, for a hunter, and was an easy person to talk to, which Mingyu liked.

Mingyu took out his phone and send a quick text to Minghao. 

_ Mingyu: Hey. Are you free to meet up? _

It was a good ten minutes until he actually replied. 

_ Minghao: Sure. Meet at the cafe in ten minutes?  _

_ Mingyu: Yeah. See you then. _

Mingyu stood up from the stool at the island and walked towards the door. He slipped on his shoes and walked out the door. It was a moment later that he sped in the direction of the cafe. 

He stopped when he reached the familiar small brown building.

He waited outside for Minghao. He watched as other people walked by and in and out of the cafe. None of them were Minghao though. 

“Hey.” 

Mingyu looked behind him and saw Minghao standing there. He was wearing a white hoodie, black jeans, and red converses. His brown hair laid on his forehead. 

Minghao looked so ethereal; Mingyu had to force himself to stop staring.

But then he couldn’t. He saw the weird coloration of a mix of purple, yellow, and green on his cheek. 

Mingyu furrowed his eyebrows. 

“What happened to your cheek?” 

Minghao turned away. 

“It’s nothing.”

“No, it’s not,” Mingyu said, putting his hand under Minghao’s chin, forcing Minghao to look at him so he could examine it, “It looks like it’s more than nothing.” 

Minghao pulled away. 

“It’s really nothing,” Minghao insisted, “Let’s just go inside.” 

Mingyu sighed. He knew Minghao wouldn’t answer easily, but Mingyu knew he had to keep trying, so he followed Minghao inside the cafe. The two ordered some more coffee. Once it was done, the two grabbed their cups and sat at the same table they did at their first meeting.

The two sat in silence, sipping on their coffee. 

Mingyu put down his mug tried again. 

“You’re really not going to tell me?” Mingyu asked. 

“You don't need to know. It’s not your concern,” Minghao harshly replied, causing Mingyu to jump a bit.

Minghao then sighed before he put down his mug. 

“I didn't mean it like that. You just… you don’t need to know,” he said, looking down at his cup. 

“But I want to,” Mingyu insisted.

“No, you don’t.” 

“I don’t want to see you hurt, Minghao. I just want to know what happened, so maybe it’s something I can help with. I can maybe use my vampirism to help you.” 

“Your vampirism won’t help. It’ll only get you killed if you try to get yourself involved,” Minghao said.

Mingyu narrowed his eyes and looked at Minghao, who was avoiding eye contact with him. He could see Minghao nervously biting his lip. Mingyu knew it had to be someone Minghao didn’t want Mingyu to know who hurt him because it was someone who  _ shouldn’t _ have hurt him.

“It was your dad… wasn’t it?” Mingyu softly asked. 

Minghao’s eyes slightly widened. He looked at Mingyu before he looked around the cafe before he looked down at his mug once again. 

Mingyu knew he could easily put his fingers to Minghao’s head and simply see the memory, but he wanted to hear it from Minghao himself. Minghao at least deserved that much. Mingyu knew it would be rude for him to force himself into Minghao’s head and assume what had happened to Minghao because of a memory with no outside context. 

Mingyu knew he was a vampire, but he also knew respect. He had been a human before after all.

“It was your father, right, Minghao?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao looked up at Mingyu before he gave him a small nod. 

“Yes.”

Mingyu’s eyes widened. When he was growing up, and before he had come out to his parents, his parents were loving. They never hit him or cursed at him. They already cared for him and treated him with kindness.  Mingyu knew that’s how parents should be like. They shouldn’t be hurting their kids. 

“Does he always hurt you?” Mingyu then asked. 

Minghao thought for a moment before he took a shaky breath.

“Only… Only when I disobey him,” Minghao replied. 

“Disobey him? He’s your dad. He shouldn’t be hurting you even if you mess up, because everyone messed up,” Mingyu said. 

“You don’t know my dad well enough to say that,” Minghao said with a sad laugh. 

“Then tell me about him,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao took a sip of his coffee. He put down the mug before he sighed.

“You know how I’m a vampire hunter, right?” Minghao started off. 

“Right,” Mingyu agreed. 

“Well… the group of vampire hunters I’m a part of… my father… he’s the leader.” 

Mingyu’s eyes widened again. 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah,” Minghao said, “The other hunters call him ‘Leader Xu.’ He’s the lead of the vampire hunter group in Seoul, but all of the hunters in Korea look up to him. He’s one of the best hunters, but he’s not the best dad and definitely doesn’t have the best humanity. Since he became a hunter, he’s killed hundreds, possibly thousands, of vampires. He always tells us ‘to kill or be killed.’ A lot of the hunters live by that motto, and because of that, the hunters in our group have killed even more.” 

“Have you killed any?” Mingyu asked. 

Before Minghao could answer, his phone buzzed. Minghao grabbed his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. He sighed again before he typed on the screen. He put the phone in his pocket. 

“My friend texted me. They’re working on traps and they need my help with something,” Minghao said. 

“Oh, okay,” Mingyu said, “I can walk you home.”

“Mingyu, you really don’t need to,” Minghao insisted.

“But I want to,” Mingyu said. 

“Mingyu-”

“Minghao, please,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao looked up at Mingyu before he looked down at his mug. He slowly nodded.  

Mingyu gave him a soft smile before they both stood up. They put their mugs on the counter before they walked outside and towards the direction of Minghao’s home.

“You really didn’t have to walk me home,” Minghao said after a bit into their walk. 

“I want to. Besides, my clan leader, Seungcheol, might be allowing some of our vampires to go out and feed tonight. I don’t want you to be a victim,” Mingyu explained. 

Instead of a spoken reply, Minghao nodded his head. 

He sighed.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” 

“What do you mean?” Mingyu asked. 

“I’m a hunter. I’m supposed to kill your kind for a living. I’ve killed creatures of your kind. How can you talk to me knowing I’ve done those things?” Minghao explained. 

“Because I know you’re not like the hunters my clan leader warns us about. You’re… caring and kind, and even sweet. You’re not like the rest of them,” Mingyu replied. 

“You don’t know that,” Minghao replied.

“I don’t, but seeing how you are… I know you aren’t like them. I know there’s more to you than the vampire hunter layer you show.”

The two stopped at Minghao’s street. Minghao looked up at Mingyu with a small smile.

“You’re really kind for a vampire,” Minghao told him. 

“Everyone thinks I’m a ‘heartless, blood-sucking monster,’ and I want to prove to them that being a vampire doesn’t define me and that I’m more than the blood-sucking monster that they perceive me to be,” Mingyu replied, “I think everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. You’re not any different. The things you’ve done don’t define who you are.”

Mingyu paused. 

“I know you’re a good person, Minghao, and who you are as a person… I know you’re someone I want as a friend.”

Minghao’s eyes widened.

“You… You really want to be friends, with me?” Minghao asked. 

“Absolutely,” Mingyu said with a smile before he held his hand out, “Would you like to be my friend?” 

Minghao looked at his hand. Mingyu could see the caution in his eyes and the shakiness in his hands. He could tell this was a harder decision for Minghao, but Mingyu hoped it would be a good decision. 

Minghao then took Mingyu’s hand in his. 

“Yeah. I would like to be your friend.” 

They shook hands before they pulled them apart. 

“I’ll see you later?” Mingyu asked with hope in his voice. 

Minghao gave him a small smile and nodded. 

“Of course.” 

Minghao gave Mingyu another small nod before he walked towards his home. Mingyu made sure he got into his house before he walked off. 


	10. Chapter 10

The scribbles of Minghao’s pen was the only noise that vibrated through the air as the night went on. 

Dinner was made and everyone had eaten, plans for the next day were set, and traps were finished. That allowed everyone to go to sleep. It was almost midnight, so Minghao knew that everyone was already asleep and that he was probably one of the only hunters that were still awake. It allowed him to finish his reading and homework for his classes; he was falling behind, so it was time he needed. 

He was sitting on a spinning chair at his desk. Paper with ideas of new shots and designs for new clothing design ideas were spread out across his desk. His laptop was on and running, playing a tutorial for a math lesson he didn’t really understand. Minghao was putting some finishing touches on his pictures for his portfolio for his photography class when he heard a knock on his door.

“One second,” Minghao called out.

He quickly closed his laptop and put it into the sleeve before he put it in his backpack. He then stuffed his photos and designs into his folder before putting it in his backpack. He shoved his backpack under his desk and then pulled out a folder out of his desk that new trap ideas. He opened the folder and took one out; he started to write on it as if he  _ had _ been working on it.

“You can come in,” Minghao then said.  

The door opened. Minghao looked back and saw that it was his father. Minghao waved and gave him a small bow before he turned back to his desk. 

His father stepped inside before he closed the door. 

“Why are you still up? You should go to sleep if you want to have enough energy for tomorrow,” He said. 

“I’m working on a new trap idea,” Minghao replied, continuing to write ideas on the piece of paper. 

“Can I see it?” His father asked.

“Not yet; it’s not finished. I’ll show it to you and everyone else later,” Minghao replied. 

“Oh, okay,” his father replied.

Minghao knew that if his father wasn’t out of his room by now, he wanted something. Minghao sighed to himself before he put his pen down and looked up at his father.

“Did you want to talk to me about something, father?” Minghao asked. 

“Oh, yes,” his father said, “I… I wanted to apologize for hitting you the other day. It was uncalled for, and it won’t happen again.”

Minghao tried not to roll his eyes. 

“You always say that, father. Every time you apologize, you say that. Then every time I mess up, I get hit. Stop trying to apologize when you’re not willing to change.”

His father glared at him. 

“I’m only trying to make things right.”

“You’ve been trying to ‘make things right’ for the past ten years. Every time I do something you don’t like, you hit me. It’s been like that since mom’s death and it's only getting worse whenever I don’t follow your rules.”

His father’s eyes widened before he recomposed himself.

“That’s not true,” his father said.

“Yes it is,” Minghao said, “If you really loved her, you would've done everything to save her. If you didn’t realize, things changed after mom died.”

There was a short silence between them.

“I… I didn’t mean to let her die,” his father whispered.

“And yet, you did. Your role in her death and everything after that ruined any kind of relationship you had with me,” Minghao replied.

His father scoffed.

“And Junhui is completely free of any blame then, isn’t he?”

Minghao froze. Anger flowed through his veins. He slowly stood up from his chair and avoided eye contact, He knew it was a touchy subject and that he had to keep control of himself, or else. 

“You don’t have the right to say his name,” Minghao said, a deadly calm to his voice. 

“You said that the role I played in your mom, my  _ wife’s _ , death ruined any kind of relationship we had, but you played a role too. You met Junhui, and he completely shattered our relationship. He’s the reason why you can never be the son I wanted.”

“That… That’s not true,” Minghao weakly said. 

“You knew that I hate vampires. You knew that a vampire killed your mother, and yet you let that disgusting, blood-sucking monster-”

Minghao couldn’t control himself anymore. He grabbed the collar of his dad’s shirt. He pushed his dad into the wall of his bedroom and held him there. His hands shook as he glared at his father, fury filling his eyes.

“Don’t you dare say that about him,” Minghao said.

“It’s true though, isn’t it? The way you are, the way we treat each other, it’s all his fault, right?”

“It’s not!” Minghao yelled. “Stop blaming Junhui! I made all of the decisions and yet he’s the one that paid the price! Tell me how that makes any sense.”

“Minghao-”

“How dare you bring him up and call him a monster when you fully know what you did and know how much it broke me.”

“Minghao-”

“That day shattered any relationship we had. Junhui didn’t do anything. It was all you. It was all yo-”

Minghao was then pulled off. He didn’t have a moment to think before he suddenly felt his face being pushed against the wall. He winced in pain before he felt his father lean in. 

“Xu Minghao, learn to control your mouth before you speak,” his father sneered, “You are the future for these hunters. They will look up to you and look to you to lead them when I hand my position to you. I won’t allow you to go soft for those monsters. The moment you go soft, the moment they will strike, and I will not let you compromise the safety of these hunters. Are we clear?”

Minghao almost growled. 

“I get it.”

Minghao used his inner strength to push his father off. His father stumbled back and furrowed his eyebrows at Minghao. 

“There it is again, father,” Minghao said, “You claim you want to make things better, but then you try to control me, and before you know it, we’re back at the same place we were before.”

Minghao let out a distasteful laugh.

“If you don’t actually try to treat me like your son, then I don’t know if there’s anything you can do that’ll heal our relationship. If you’re not willing to change, then don’t even bother trying to change anymore,” Minghao said, “Now go before I do something  _ disobedient  _ and our relationship spirals  _ again _ .”

Minghao expected a bigger reaction, but his father only scoffed. He then fixed his jacket before he walked out and closed the door behind him. 

Minghao then walked to his desk and turned off the lamp, leaving the moon to light up his room. He then walked to his bed and laid down, realizing how heavy he was breathing. His head hit the pillow, and it hit him how tired he was.

His self control and emotions started to dwindle. He finally let the tears fall down his cheeks; his body violently shook as the memory weaved through his mind and filled his head with darkness and regret. His tears only fell faster and his body’s shakiness continued to worsen. He could handle it most nights, but this night, it seemed worse. He couldn’t shake the memory away since it seemed plastered to the core memory of his brain. 

He didn’t know why he seemed so much worse this night, but, he was sure of one thing: he knew he couldn’t deal with it alone.

Minghao didn’t know why he choose him, but he knew something felt right when he pressed on Mingyu’s name in his phone and brought the phone up to his ear.


	11. Chapter 11

It was past midnight. That was late for humans, from what Mingyu remember from being a human. He quickly learned after turning that vampires technically didn’t need to sleep to recharge their energy. But, he also learned a lot of vampires liked to sleep to help speed up their healing if they were injured or to rest their bodies if they had been stretching the limit of their abilities. Other vampires liked to prey on humans and feed since nighttime was their domain. Others liked to simply relax and talk to their other fellow vampires.

Mingyu, however, spent many (not all) nights watching the moon.

Mingyu loved the moon. He was amazed at how something so small (well, from how he saw it) could light up the entire sky with the help of the stars. Mingyu thought it was beautiful; it was something Mingyu would never be tired of. It gave him a sense of peace and serenity. 

But lately, he could admit there was something, well someone, that was giving him that same feeling. The last couple of days, he had hoped that that special person would watch the moon with him one day. 

He walked out the front door as the moon started to replace the sun, ready to watch it at his special place. Before he could walk any further, he felt his phone ring. He stopped walking and took his phone out of his pocket.

It was then when he saw Minghao’s name on the screen. 

Mingyu was surprised, to say the least, but he could also say he was happy to see the call. It was one step closer to being a close friend. 

_ “Friend, right, Mingyu,” his conscious whispered to him, “you wouldn’t be this excited to talk to someone who is just a  _ **_friend_ ** _.” _

Mingyu ignored the voice in his head and picked up the phone.

“Hello?” 

“Mingyu?” Minghao asked. 

Mingyu slightly frowned. Minghao’s voice was noticeably more shaky than it’s ever been. He tightened his grip on his phone.

“Minghao? What’s wrong?” Mingyu asked. 

“Can… Can we meet up?” Minghao asked. 

“Of course,” Mingyu said, “Where?”

“Could… Could you come to… to where you drop me off?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah. I’ll be there in a little bit,” Mingyu said. 

He hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket before he ran in the direction of Minghao’s house.

He stopped when he saw the corner where he and Minghao parted ways. With his eyesight, he could see Minghao pacing in circles and rubbing his hands together. 

Mingyu walked up to him. 

“Minghao?” 

Minghao turned around and saw Mingyu. He gasped in relief before he ran up to Mingyu and pulled him into a hug. Mingyu was surprised, again, but he accepted Minghao’s hug with open arms. He wrapped his arms around Minghao’s waist and pulled him into his body. Mingyu could feel his body shaking. He wondered what happened that could make Minghao this way in the last couple of hours since they saw each other. 

“We should get out of here before any of the hunters catch us,” Mingyu whispered. 

Minghao nodded in agreement. 

“Do you have any ideas on where you want to go?” 

“N-No,” Minghao replied, “Just… Just take me away from here.” 

Mingyu nodded. Mingyu put his arms under Minghao’s legs and lifted him up into his arms. Minghao put his head on Mingyu’s chest as Mingyu ran off.  

Mingyu knew the place he and Minghao could go. He ran in the direction of where he came from, back to his home. He stood to the side of the house. He tightened his grip on Minghao before he leaped, his abilities helping him to land on the roof, on his feet, with ease.

“Minghao?” Mingyu whispered.

Minghao looked up. He wiped his eyes before he looked around, looking at the simple but beautiful scene around him.

They were on the roof of a house (Minghao started to wonder if it was a mansion because of how big the roof was). It was smooth and slanted down to help cover the mansion (Minghao concluded that, yes, it was definitely a mansion) but was sturdy nonetheless. The roof peak through the trees, which allowed a perfect view of the moon and stars with the view of trees below them. At the time, at that moment, it looked like the moon defeated the darkness and lit up everything around them.

“Where are we?” Minghao asked. 

“The roof of my home,” Mingyu replied. 

Minghao’s eyes widened. 

“You live in a mansion?”

“Well, yeah. I live with many other vampires, so it helps fit us all. Seungcheol had it build when he first came here,” Mingyu replied.

“Isn’t this risky though? They’ll figure out that I’m here.” 

“They won’t. This house was built to keep humans out and hide vampires in. There isn’t a leak or a gap that can expose us. Plus, it’s a mansion. There’s a lot of space for us to hide,” Mingyu said, “Would you like to sit with me?” 

Minghao thought, biting his lip before he nodded. Mingyu smiled before he let Minghao down on the floor of the roof. Mingyu sat down as Minghao did the same. Minghao then leaned into Mingyu and rested his head against Mingyu’s shoulder. Mingyu flinched, surprised at the sudden movements.

“Is… Is this okay?” Minghao asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Mingyu replied, “Minghao?”

“Yeah?” 

“What happened?” 

Mingyu could feel Minghao freeze at the question. 

“Can… Can I not talk about it? I just… I don’t want to think about it. I just want to sit here and watch the moon with you.”

“Okay,” Mingyu said. 

The two sat in silence, watching the moon shine brightly in the sky. It was also a full moon, which made it shine even brighter. It lit up the entire night, making it an even more beautiful night.  

Minghao continued to rest his head on Mingyu’s shoulder. Mingyu hesitated but eventually wrapped his arm around Minghao’s waist and pulled him closer, holding him protectively as they watched the moon. Minghao lovingly sighed at the gesture and curled up against Mingyu’s body and wrapped his arms around Minghu’s torso. Mingyu could feel Minghao’s body shake as he seemingly tried to fight off tears, which was ultimately failing as Mingyu could see them fall down his cheeks. 

“Mingyu?” Minghao softly asked, wiping his tears.

“Yes?” Mingyu replied.

“Why did you bring me here? There were many places we could’ve gone, but we came here, back to your home,” Minghao said.

Mingyu let out a soft sigh. 

“The rooftop became a special place for me when I first turned when I was still trying to control my hunger and bloodlust,” Mingyu said, “At that time, I was just another baby vampire that was trying to learn.”

“You weren’t always in control?” Minghao asked.

Mingyu shook his head.

“The transition was hard for me, at first. I always craved blood, and it was something I couldn’t control. I went through blood bags like crazy. When I didn’t get one when I wanted one, I would lose a grasp of myself. I hurt the other vampires until I got what I wanted. Seungcheol gave me a reality check, and that made me think. I had become someone I didn’t want to become. Seungcheol was, and is  _ still _ , pretty strict with new vampires and doesn’t allow them to go out until he’s sure that they’ve gained control over their hunger, and I was no exception. He watched me and kept me inside until he was sure I was ready to go outside again. My only exception to going outside was the rooftop, but only at night, since… you know, the temptation of the different blood smells isn’t as strong. Since I couldn’t go anywhere, the rooftop became my only sense of freedom. It helped me control myself and be at peace with myself and who I had become.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Mingyu replied, “This is a special place for me, and now you know why. It’s simple, but it also has a beautiful view and helps me get away from the other vampires. Plus, it has a beautiful view of the moon, and I’ve always enjoyed a good view of the moon.”

Mingyu paused. 

“This place… gave me that sense of peace I needed. I always came back up when my hunger became too much for me to handle. It gave me a chance to breathe, think, and calm and gather myself. It wasn’t long until I had control. Even Seungcheol was impressed,” Mingyu told Minghao, “I thought bringing you here might help you calm yourself down like it did for me.”

“Wow,” Minghao replied, “That’s really amazing, Mingyu.” 

“Yeah,” Mingyu said, “Do you feel better?” 

“I do,” Minghao fondly said, “Thank you.” 

They continued to sit in silence again. This time, however, Mingyu could sense that Minghao was falling asleep. Mingyu could hear his heartbeat and breathing slowing down. Plus, Mingyu could feel Minghao nodding off on his shoulder. 

“Minghao, it’s late. I should probably get you back home,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao was wide awake again. 

“No,” Minghao frantically said, tightening his grip on Mingyu, “No, I can’t go back. I don’t want to, not yet. Please, Mingyu, don’t make me. I can’t.”

Mingyu’s heart broke seeing Minghao in front of him and clinging onto him for dear life and not allowing himself to let go. Mingyu knew his upcoming offer was risky, but he couldn’t let Minghao go back, no matter what happened under the roof of his home. 

“Did… Did you want to come inside with me?” Mingyu hesitantly asked.

Minghao looked up at him. 

“Really?” 

“Of course. You can sleep in my room. My room is in a pretty secluded place of the house, so they won’t be able to smell you or hear you. Besides, you look like you don’t want to go back and I’m not going to make you. It seemed to hurt you a lot.” 

“But… But what if they catch me?” Minghao asked. 

“They won’t. Each room is built securely so the flow of noise and smell can’t easily travel from room to room. Seungcheol had it built that way for, when the younger vampires try to control themselves or their new abilities, they aren’t distracted by other vampires and so the older vampires aren’t bothered by them. But eventually, we all learn, and Seungcheol just kept the rooms like that for all of the vampires.” 

“Seungcheol sounds like a scary, but caring, leader,” Minghao replied. 

“He is. Just be sure to not get on his bad side,” Mingyu lightly joked, satisfied to see a small smile on Minghao’s face, “Again, it’s a mansion, so it’ll be easy to hide you.”

Mingyu paused.

“So, did you want to come in? I’ll make sure they won’t catch you.”

Minghao looked down and bit his lip. He thought for a moment before he looked up with the same smile on his face.

“I would love to.” 

Mingyu beamed. He helped Minghao up from the rooftop. He lifted Minghao into his arms again before he walked to the edge. Mingyu was about to jump, but Minghao stopped him. 

“Mingyu?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you mind if I ask that we come back here sometime?”

“Of course not,” Mingyu said with a small smile, “This place is also your place now.”

Minghao smiled and leaned into Mingyu’s chest as Mingyu jumped down. Minghao felt a sudden breeze, but once he looked up, he saw that he and Mingyu were back on the ground. Mingyu then let Minghao go onto the ground. He motioned for Minghao to follow him, which he did, and together they walked around the corner of the mansion and to the back. Mingyu’s room was on the first floor, which made it easy for them to open the window and slip in. Once they made it inside the room, Mingyu closed the window.

“Did you want anything comfortable to sleep in?” Mingyu asked. 

“No. I just want to sleep,” Minghao replied, laying on the bed. 

“Okay,” Mingyu said, “You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.” 

“Oh no you’re not,” Minghao said, pulling Mingyu towards the bed, “We’re sleeping on this bed together.” 

“Are you sure? I can easily-”

“I’m sure,” Minghao emphasized, “I promise. Just climb into bed with me.”

Mingyu knew better than to argue, so he got under the blanket after Minghao. They laid down and faced each other.

“Good night, Mingyu,” Minghao said. 

“Good night,” Mingyu replied. 

It wasn’t long until Minghao had fallen asleep. Mingyu wasn’t tired and instead watched Minghao sleep. 

It made him smile because, for the first time that night, Mingyu saw that Minghao was at peace.


	12. Chapter 12

Truth be told, Mingyu didn’t sleep at all that night. He could’ve, but with Minghao sleeping in front of him, Mingyu couldn’t find it in him to sleep. 

Minghao was, dare he say,  _ cute _ when he slept. Minghao had a habit of curling into a ball and cuddling with the blanket. Soft snores often left his mouth, and he always pouted cutely. 

It made Mingyu’s heart race, seeing the cute actions of the hunter.

Mingyu was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw Minghao stir in his sleep. Mingyu intently watched as Minghao steadied his breathing and opened his eyes. Mingyu saw Minghao blush before he hid his face in the blanket. 

“Good morning,” Minghao shyly said. 

“Good morning,” Mingyu replied, “How’d you sleep?”

Minghao pulled the blanket away from his face. Mingyu’s heart fluttered when he saw a small smile grace his face.

“Honestly? The best I have in a long time.”

“I’m glad to hear,” Mingyu replied, “It’s almost morning, and although that doesn’t matter much to me, I’m sure it’s important for you to get back home before anyone notices you’re missing.”

Minghao sighed.

“Right.”

Minghao rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms as he yawned (Mingyu tried not to coo at the scene) before he threw the blanket off of him.

“Do you have a bathroom?” Minghao asked. 

“Of course. How do you think I get my hair to look this good?” Mingyu asked. 

Mingyu attempted to do a hair flip, which ultimately didn’t work well. Minghao let out a small laugh. His eyes widened before he covered his mouth. Mingyu widely smiled.  

“You have an adorable laugh,” Mingyu said. 

“I really don’t,” Minghao replied. 

“No, you do,” Mingyu said, “it's the most adorable laugh I’ve ever heard.”

Mingyu started to see Minghao’s cheeks turn red, but before he could see the full effect, he coughed and looked away. 

“Anyway, bathroom?” Minghao asked. 

“Oh, um, it’s that door on the left,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao nodded before he got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom; he closed the door behind him.

Mingyu got up from the bed and went to the mirror in his room to check his hair. 

_ “You’re falling for him,” his subconscious told him.  _

“I’m not…,” Mingyu tried to tell him.

_ “When has your heart ever beat this fast for someone? That American exchange student, Cindy?” _

“That was different.”

_ “And so is Minghao. Face it, Mingyu. You’re falling.”  _

Before Mingyu could argue with himself, he heard the bathroom door unlock. He looked back and saw that Minghao had neatly combed through his hair and washed his face.

He looked about ready to leave, and Mingyu would be lying to himself if he didn’t want him to. Before Minghao could climb out the window, he walked over to Mingyu.

“Mingyu?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah?” Mingyu replied. 

Minghao nervously shuffled his feet.

“Sleeping by your side helped me, a lot,” Minghao said, “I can usually never sleep that well at home.”

“Why’s that?”

“I... I just can’t. My father and I don’t have the best relationship... and the life I have to live because of him… isn’t all that great either. I mean... I’m expected to kill vampires for a living.”

“And have you?”

“I… I’ve had my fair share of kills, but that was before. I’ve haven’t killed since... since...”

“Since what?” 

Minghao looked down at the ground. He looked to be lost in his own thoughts. Mingyu listened closer and could hear that his breathing had quickened as if it were a painful reason, a painful memory.

“Minghao?” Mingyu gently called out. 

Minghao suddenly looked up at Mingyu. He nervously looked around the room before he looked back at the ground. 

“I don’t want to talk about it. I… I can’t,” Minghao told him, “I’m… I’m sorry, Mingyu.” 

“Don’t be,” Mingyu replied, “It wouldn’t be right for me to ask you recall something that seems so painful for you.”

“I know, but I just wish I could. You’ve opened up about so many things in your life. You’ve talked about your struggles, like… like you trust me enough to tell me. You’ve told me so much so willingly and I can’t find it in myself to do the same. I want to show you that I trust you. I badly want to tell you more about my life but… but I… I… I just can’t. I just can’t bring myself to talk about my life. I… I’m sorry, Mingyu.”

Minghao breathing became shaky before they slowly started to fill with tears. Mingyu furrowed his eyebrows before he shook his head. He pulled Minghao into a hug and started to rub is back in comfort as Minghao started to shake once again.

Mingyu pulled away, putting his finger under Minghao’s chin and lifting his head up so Minghao was looking up at him.

“Don’t feel obligated to tell me what you can’t tell me, Hao,” Mingyu said, “I don’t want to hurt you, ever, and forcing yourself to reveal such a painful part of your past is doing just that. It’s okay that you can’t tell me because I want you to tell me when you want to.”

Mingyu paused. 

“You don’t have to prove that you trust me because I already know that you trust me.”

You do?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah,” Mingyu replied, “When I said the other vampires wouldn’t catch you, you took in my word and came in with me. I know you trust me, Hao. You don’t have to prove it because I already know you do.”

“I know you trust me, just like I trust you.”

Minghao shyly smiled and pulled Mingyu into another hug. 

“You’re really too kind,” Minghao whispered. 

“Like I said, everyone deserves to be treated with kindness,” Mingyu replied, “And honestly… I think what you need right now is kindness. It seems like you haven’t had much of it, especially lately.”

“Honestly, yeah,” Minghao replied. 

Mingyu softly sighed and continued to hug Minghao and rub his back.

“You’ve been through a lot... haven’t you?”

“It’s that easy to tell?” 

Mingyu nodded. 

“But then again, it’s easy for me to read people.”

“Oh, right,” Minghao said, “I… I promise that I’ll tell you everything, one day, when I can.”

“And I’ll wait for that day, no matter how long it takes,” Mingyu replied.

Minghao then pulled apart.

“Mingyu?” Minghao asked.

“Yeah?” Mingyu asked.   

“I... I was wondering if I could come here and sleep here... every night? It helps me a lot. My dad is expecting more and more from me, and getting good sleep helps me deal with all of it.”

Mingyu smiled.

“I don’t see why not,” Mingyu replied, “I’ll be waiting by my window to let you in.” 

“Okay,” Mingao said.

He held out his hand for Minghao. Minghao seemed surprised at the sudden gesture, but took Mingyu’s hand. Mingyu led him to the window; he pulled it out with enough space for Minghao to slip through.  

“I’ll um… be busy today with class and hunter stuff, so I’ll… see you tonight?” Minghao asked.

“Of course,” Mingyu replied, “I look forward to it.”

“Me too,” Minghao said with a small smile, “Also… Hao, you called me Hao.”

Mingyu blushed.

“Is… Is that okay?”

“It’s perfect,” Minghao said, “You should call me that more often. I like it.”

Immediately after he said that, Minghao looked away, and Mingyu could only assume it was because he was embarrassed. 

“I will, for sure, knowing that it makes you smile,” Mingyu said, “Anyway, you should get going. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah.”

Minghao gave Mingyu one last smile before he walked off. Mingyu watched until he was out of sight before he closed the door. 

Mingyu then walked over to his bed and plopped down so he was lying down, the smile on his face never leaving. 

_ “You’re definitely falling,” his voice told him again. _

This time, he didn’t even try to deny it. 


	13. Chapter 13

After that night, it had become a cycle of theirs.

Mingyu and Minghao would go through their days texting, their conversations ranging from their day to Mingyu talking about his personal life to what Minghao has learned in his classes and everything in between. After Minghao was done with classes, Mingyu would meet him at his school and they would talk even more. Occasionally, Mingyu would make a dumb comment, which would make Minghao giggle.

After they got bored at school, Mingyu would take him out. It was always different, but nonetheless, they enjoyed spending time together. When it got dark, Mingyu would take him to his home.

What they did at night varied. Sometimes, Minghao had homework and would need to spend their time together reading and working on papers (which Mingyu didn’t mind; he just liked being with Minghao). If Minghao had more free time, they would sit on the rooftop and talk for hours on end.

Mingyu liked the conversations they had later at night. Minghao tended to let his walls down more than usual at night and they were able to talk about things Minghao wouldn't usually want to be willing to talk about.

They would talk, usually, until Mingyu noticed that Minghao was starting to fall asleep. It was then when Mingyu would lead them into his room for the night.

Usually, before they slept, Minghao was adamant that Mingyu sleeps on the bed, no matter how much Mingyu insisted on sleeping on the floor. Mingyu wasn’t sure that they were comfortable around each other enough to be sleeping in the same bed, but Minghao disagreed and said that he was being a good friend to him and had a right to sleep on the bed with him. Plus, Mingyu had a full-size bed, and there was no reason to not share it.

Like most nights, Mingyu didn't sleep simply because he didn't need to. Minghao, however, was human and needed to. So how it often went was that Minghao would sleep, and Mingyu would watch him. (Some might say it’s creepy, but in his defense, he was just watching over him so he slept well since Minghao said he didn't sleep well at home.) After Minghao woke up, they would talk (if they had time, but that rarely happened since Minghao liked to sleep in). Minghao would then get up, bid Mingyu a goodbye, and walk off to start his day.

And throughout all of it, they had been able to sneak around with each other without alarming Seongcheol, the other vampires, Minghao's father, and the other hunters.

It was a cycle they had fallen into and was something they both looked forward to living by. Over time, Minghao started to open up more, even if it wasn’t late at night. He would let his walls down and tell Mingyu more things about himself.

Mingyu learned that Minghao didn't care much for being a hunter and aspired to be a fashion designer and a photographer after he graduated college. He also learned that, even though Minghao didn't care much for being a hunter, he was very caring for the other hunters and often looked out for them. It made Mingyu was doing more of the talking, instead of it having him doing all of it.

Of course, Mingyu continued to talk about himself and make jokes with him and Minghao would smile and even giggle. Mingyu liked hearing Minghao laugh and hoped he would get to hear it more often.

It had become a routine to the point that Minghao had unofficially moved into his room. Minghao had a toothbrush in Mingyu’s bathroom, a drawer of his own clothes, and his deodorant sitting on the nightstand.

This morning wasn't any different from any of the other days they had together; well, Mingyu thought it wouldn't.

Like any other morning for the past couple of months, Mingyu was watching over Minghao. He had been sleeping soundly. It was moments like these that made Mingyu smile. Minghao was sleeping, safe and unharmed, and that’s all that mattered to him.

It was then when things shifted.

Minghao then furrowed his eyebrows. He gasped for air before he erratically turned away from Mingyu. He then turned back to face Mingyu, but his face didn’t look any better. His breathing quickened; Mingyu could hear Minghao’s heart beating frantically. Mingyu would’ve gone as far as to say that his forehead was starting to sweat.

“Dad… D-Dad, p-please.”

Mingyu furrowed his eyebrows. Minghao did have a habit of sleep talking (Mingyu still liked to bring up a time that Minghao was scolding someone in his sleep about mismatching colors and bad lighting, which never failed to embarrass Minghao), but this seemed serious. Usually, Mingyu let him sleep because the sleep talking never stayed around for too long, but it continued.

“I’ll… I’ll do anything,” Minghao said, turning his body again.

“Minghao?” Mingyu asked, gently shaking Minghao’s shoulder.

Minghao seemingly threw Mingyu’s hand off of him and almost hit him in the face. He turned again to face Mingyu. His breathing came out in gasped as a tear started to fall down his face.

“I’m… I-I’m sorry,” Minghao whispered, “Jun… Junhui, I-I’m sorry.”

_Junhui? Who’s Junhui?_

“Minghao!” Mingyu then shouted, loud enough to snap Minghao out of his dream.

And it worked. Minghao’s eyes opened and he shot up from the bed. Minghao grabbed the blanket, tightly holding it against his body as he looked around as he started to hyperventilate, his heart still pounding.

“Minghao,” Mingyu said, sitting up with Minghao.

Minghao then turned to him. Without a word, he reached his arms out and clung onto Mingyu as if his life depended on it.

I’m sorry, Mingyu. I’m so so sorry.”

“Woah woah woah,” Mingyu quickly said, “What are you sorry for?”

“I’m sorry.”

Without a warning, Minghao put his face in Mingyu’s chest and just cried, tears falling onto Mingyu’s shirt. Mingyu’s eyes widened at the sudden reaction and wondered why he was acting this way, but he knew that Minghao was hurting and that it was his job to comfort him. So instead of asking, Mingyu simply wrapped his arms around and held him, rubbing his back as broken sobs left Minghao’s mouth.

It was a little while later that Minghao pulled away from Mingyu’s chest. Minghao took deep breaths before he wiped his tears with the palms of his hands.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again in a small voice.

“Don’t be.”

“If you don’t mind me asking… what happened… that you’re like this?” Mingyu asked.

Minghao visibly froze. He looked away as his breathing became shaky.

“I… I can’t say,” he replied, “Not now.”

“Oh… okay,” Mingyu replied, “You should get ready now.”

Minghao slowly nodded. He gently pushed the blanket off of him before he went to a drawer in Mingyu’s dresser that had his clothes. He pulled out a flannel and jeans before he walked to the bathroom. Mingyu took the time to climb out of bed and walk to his dresser to find clothes to change into. He settled for a black hoodie and white joggers. He quickly ran his hands through his brown hair and fixed any stray strands.

Mingyu looked towards the bathroom door when he heard the lock click. The door opened, and Minghao stepped out. Minghao was wearing a simple red flannel with black jeans and his white converses. His brown hair, fluffier than usual, was laying on his forehead. Mingyu tried not to stare.

He watched as Minghao started to gather his things rather nervously and hastily into his backpack, which was odd for Mingyu because Minghao usually liked to take time to talk to Mingyu before he left.

“Minghao?” Mingyu softly asked.

“Yes?” Minghao asked in the same tone.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Minghao, please.”

“I said it’s nothing. You never made me tell you anything so don’t break it by trying to make me say anything now because then you’ll be just like the rest of them,” Minghao snapped

Mingyu eyes widened before he took a step back.

Minghao looked back at him; he bit his lip, realizing his tone.

“I’m sorry,” Minghao replied.

“No, I’m sorry. I… I just thought you would,” Mingyu said.

Minghao sighed.

“I can’t. Not yet, at least.”

“Will you though, one day?”

“Maybe.”

Minghao then zipped his backpack before he slung it onto his back.

“I should go.”

Mingyu nodded before Minghao faced the window once again, opening it. Before he could climb out, Mingyu spoke.

“But you’ll be back tonight... right?”

Minghao stayed silent, and Mingyu knew this already wasn’t a good sign. On good days, Minghao would always smile at him before he replied with “of course” or “definitely” or something along the lines of that. The fact that Minghao hesitated already showed that something was wrong.

Minghao then sighed.

“I don’t know.”

Without another word, Minghao climbed out of the window and closed it behind him before he walked away.

It left Mingyu to wonder what Minghao dreamed about that made him close himself off after months of progress, and how someone named “Junhui” that played a role in all of it.


	14. Chapter 14

Minghao didn’t come back that night. 

Or the next night. 

Or the next. 

Minghao didn’t come back at all for the next week. On top of that, Minghao stopped replying to Mingyu’s texts and answering his calls altogether. Minghao never told him about his whereabouts, and whenever Mingyu asked if he could meet him at school, Minghao said he was busy with hunter tasks and said they would have to find another day to meet up. 

Minghao seemed distant once again, and Mingyu knew better than to pry, so he left the texts and let Minghao be.

It left Mingyu to wonder if he did something wrong, or if he did anything wrong at all.

Mingyu noticed that things were okay between them with the days and nights they spend together. They would have meaningful conversations along with jokes and laughs. Minghao would smile and laugh in front of him. Minghao had started to open up more, and Mingyu knew that Minghao was becoming someone he admired, someone he was falling for.

It was that morning when things changed. 

That nightmare. 

Minghao looked distressed while he seemingly begged for something. On top of that, he kept saying a name: Junhui. Who was Junhui? Who was he to Minghao? What was he apologizing for? 

Then he started apologizing to Mingyu. That didn’t make any sense to him. From what Mingyu could remember, he couldn’t think of anything that Minghao did that harmed him, so why did he apologize? He didn’t need to apologize for anything. 

Minghao changed in the matter of a morning, and once again, they were back at square one.

It started to worry Mingyu.

Was Minghao cutting him off? 

Mingyu looked towards the dresser that had the dresser of Minghao’s clothes, the nightstand that had his deodorant, and the bathroom that had his toothbrush and bathroom things. If his things were here, Minghao still wanted some kind of connection with him, right? 

Mingyu then groaned in frustration before he buried his face in his hands before running his hands through his hair and tugging at it. 

He couldn’t deal with this frustration and confusion anymore. He needed answers.    


He took his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. He went to his and Minghao’s texts before he started to type out another text. 

_ Gyu: Minghao, I know you’re reading this. It’s been a week since I’ve seen you and since… since we had a full conversation. I just… I miss you, and I’m just confused. I want to know what happened that night, and really just… what happened to you overall. I can tell how broken you are… and I just want to know why so I can help you. It hurts me to see you hurting. I don’t want you to go through this alone. I… I just want to help you.  _

Mingyu sent it and waiting for a reply, only to be left on read; he decided to send out another one.

_ Gyu: Minghao, please. _

It was read once again, but this time, he could see that Minghao was texting something. 

_ Hao: Okay… I’ll see you at the cafe tonight, at 8.  _

Mingyu smiled. 

“Mingyu?” 

Mingyu threw his phone behind him and look up from his bed, where he was sitting cross-legged. He saw Seungcheol standing in the doorway of his room. 

“Yes?” 

“Have you fed recently?"

Mingyu thought for a moment. Mingyu didn’t like show his vampire self in front of Minghao, so he didn’t drink from his blood bags when he was here. During the day, he spent all of his time thinking about Minghao so he didn’t even think to feed. Mingyu couldn’t remember the last time he fed. 

“Mingyu?” Seungcheol asked again.

“I… I don’t remember,” Mingyu said with hesitation. 

“Come have a blood bag with me then,” Seungcheol said, walking away and waving his finger to motion Mingyu to follow him, “Besides, I’ve been meaning to have a talk with you.” 

Mingyu gulped before he stood up from his bed and stood up from his bed. He walked out of his room and closed the door behind him before he followed Seungcheol into the kitchen. Seungcheol opened the fridge and pulled out two blood bags before he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. Mingyu sat down next to him before grabbing a blood bag. 

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Mingyu asked as he opened his bag. 

Seungcheol held up a finger. He broke the seal on his bag before he took a sip. He pulled the bag away from his face before he cleared his throat. 

“About you,” Seungcheol replied.

Mingyu almost choked on the blood that he was drinking. He pulled it away from his face. 

“What about me?” Mingyu asked.  

“It has been brought to my attention that… you’ve been acting a bit different lately,” Seungcheol started off, “You seem happier.” 

“I am pretty happy these days, more than usual,” Mingyu said with a small smile before he started to drink again. 

“But… there has also been more with that happiness. It also looks like you’re more… secretive. You’re walking out of the house without telling anymore. You’re not telling anyone about your whereabouts. You’ve been sneaking around more. Even Seokmin isn’t sure why,” Seungcheol said, “It makes me wonder… what’s made your habits change so suddenly? I’m happy to see that you are happier these days, but I want to know what the cause is.”

Mingyu froze before he looked away. 

_ What was he going to say now? _

“It… It’s nothing,” Mingyu said with hesitation. 

“It was nothing before and it’s nothing now? I know there’s a certain cause to your happiness because you’ve never been like this before. You always followed the rules,” Seungcheol said before he started to drink again.

“It’s nothing important,” Mingyu said, “I’ve just… been taking time to self-discover and improve myself. Since I got my foot trapped in the woods that one time, I’ve been trying to improve as a vampire. I didn’t tell anyone because I knew you would send someone to watch over me, and I don’t want anyone to watch over me. I need to do this on my own, Seungcheol, and it wouldn’t help me much if someone told how to use my abilities.”

Seungcheol listened before he nodded. 

“You are right about that. I like some kind of freedom when it comes to our abilities,” Seungcheol agreed, “but that doesn’t explain why you’re so happy all of the time.”

“I’ve been happy because I can see myself improving,” Mingyu replied. 

Seungcheol’s eyes narrowed as Mingyu sat silently. He took another sip before he put his blood bag down. 

“You know, I could easily see your memories and see if you’re really telling the truth or not, but I won’t because I trust you and everyone in our clan,” Seungcheol said, “If I find out you’re lying or it has something to do with humans or even the hunters, I won’t hesitate to punish you. I won’t let you interact with them or bring them in and compromise the safety of this clan.”

Seungcheol paused. 

“Just… Just be careful because… just, remember what they did to Jeonghan.”

Mingyu nodded. 

“Of course.”

“I’ll be keeping a closer eye on you, just in case any of this involves humans or hunters,” Seungcheol said, “You can hate me for it, but I’m doing this for your safety. I won’t let what happened to Jeonghan happen to you too.”

“Of course,” Mingyu said with a small nod. 

“Now, go. Seokmin and a few of the others have already gone out to check our perimeter, and I don’t have anything for you to do since I have to go work with Chan, so you can just do what you want until I have something to do,” Seungcheol said. 

Mingyu stood up and nodded before he walked to his room, occasionally drinking from his blood bag. 

He had to get ready for tonight. 


	15. Chapter 15

Mingyu was able to sneak out without any problems, thankfully. The last thing he needed was for someone to question him and stop him from going, which would be bad because Minghao was going to open up about that night and the painful parts of his past.

He waited by the entrance of the cafe. The sun was starting to set. Humans walked by, rushing to get home before dark. He could hear the conversations of them, ranging from friendly to romantic. 

He kept looking at the clock on his watch. 

_ 7:58 _

Minghao would be there on time. At least, Mingyu believed he would. 

As if on cue, he saw Minghao walking towards him wearing a brown jacket over a plain white shirt and brown boots. His hair was combed through and laying down on his forehead. Mingyu didn’t realize it when he saw Minghao walk up, that he really missed Minghao. He missed seeing him and feeling his presence. Now that Minghao was here, Mingyu could feel himself be happier. 

“Hey, Minghao,” Mingyu greeted. 

“Hey,” Minghao softly replied, “I want hot cocoa today. How about you?” 

“Hot cocoa sounds nice,” Mingyu agreed. 

The two walked inside and told their orders to the person at the cashier. Once they put in their orders and paid, Mingyu started to walk towards the back of the cafe to their regular table, but Minghao stopped him. 

“Can… Can we go outside instead?” Minghao softly asked. 

“Of course,” Mingyu replied with a nod. 

The two headed out with their cups in hand. Mingyu found a bench by the cafe; the two sat down.

“So… here we are,” Mingyu said. 

“Yeah,” Minghao replied. 

“Where… Where do you want to start?” 

“My mother.” 

Minghao sighed. 

“I actually grew up as a relatively happy kid. When I was growing up, my mom and father loved me. I knew how lucky I was, knowing I had a home and a family that I could go back to after I was done with school. Life was good, and I was happy… for that time.”

“Then… my dad became aware of the vampire problem in China. He thought it would be best to move us to Korea to avoid them, but, to his dismay, it was just as ‘bad’ in Korea. My dad figured enough was enough, so he joined a group of hunters that had started to fight and kill them off. He trained and became one of their best hunters In Seoul, since this is an organization of hunters that are stretched across Korea. After the leader was ready to pass down the leadership, it wasn’t much of a surprise that it was passed down to my father.” 

“From that point on, my father started to change. He became too invested in the hunters. As time went on, he was slowly starting to become detached from me and my mom. He was always angry, always plotting, always thinking. My mom started to notice and tried to stop him before he turned into something he would end up hating himself for, but my father never listened.”

“When I turned twelve, I remember my father talking to me about joining the hunters, like training with them and learning how to use the weapons they used. My mother hear this conversation and said there was no way she would let him turn me into ‘one of them.’ She excused me to my room, but I could still hear her and my father argue for hours. Eventually, my father just gave up and left to meet with the hunters.”

“I may have been twelve, but I wasn’t an idiot. I could see that my parents’ relationship was changing. They slowly started to become distant from each other. The hugs, the kisses, the ‘I love yous’... they all stopped. But, she continually kept up with them to see what they were up to and to keep me out of it since she never wanted me to be involved. Then… Then there was one day that changed everything.” 

Minghao took a deep breath. 

“My mom… she heard plans of my father starting a movement against the vampires. He was in trouble and overwhelmed by the number of vampires they were up against. Since my mom and I had been loyal to my father, regardless of his crazy antics, we went to help him.” 

“My mom was a person of peace… so she jumped into the middle of the fight and tried to come up with some kind of way to keep the peace.” 

“So that’s where you get it from,” Mingyu said with a smirk.  

Minghao blushed before he looked away and continued. 

“Fortunately, the vampires listened and were willing to stand down. Unfortunately, my father believed, and still believes, that vampires are incapable of peace, so he argued against them some more and stirred them up once again. These vampires, especially, had a temper. They threatened to kill my mom if my father didn’t stand down. My father tested them, and because of him, they snapped my mother’s neck before they ran off.”

Mingyu quietly gasped. 

“I remember crying over her body. I remember begging her to wake up, even though I knew she wasn’t going to. My father, however, stayed stoic. We took her body away. My father didn’t even bother to have a real funeral, claiming ‘we didn’t have time for one’ and settled on burying her under a tree in some random ass field. He said I could mourn for that one day, but that I had to move on because ‘that was the hunter way.’”

Mingyu could feel his heart drop to his stomach, hearing how Minghao was treated by his father.

“I was always against being a hunter, but my father told me I had no one else besides him. Either I became a hunter or… or he kicked me out and disowned me as a son. As a twelve-year-old who just lost his mother, I knew I couldn’t survive on my own… so I let my father train me as a hunter.”

“Every day after school, I came home and trained and continued training through middle and high school. After I graduated high school, my father said there was no use for me to go to college, but I went against him and applied. I got into one, knowing that if I got out of this one day, I would have a backup plan.” 

“Since my mother’s death, my relationship with my father had been destroyed. Because of him, I’ve been training as a hunter for the past ten years. I’ve been forced to believe what he’s believed for the past ten years. I’ve been forced to kill for the past ten years. He expects me to take over once it’s time, but I don’t want to and don't plan to. He thinks he knows what’s best for me, but he doesn’t. My mom always knew. My mom would’ve never wanted me to be like this, and yet, here I am.”

“You can’t escape?” Mingyu asked. 

“No,” Minghao replied, “My father… and all the training he’s put me through… that’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve only been exposed to fashion and photography recently, but I don't even know much out of that. I don't even know what I’d do if I ever left. I don’t know if I’d even be able to survive. At least with my dad, I have food and a home.”

“Do… Do you want to leave one day?” Mingyu asked. 

“I do,” Minghao replied, “One day, I know I will, but for now, I have to wait.”

Mingyu didn't expect any of that. He didn't realize Minghao had gone through things so many more worse things than what Mingyu thought he went through. He didn't know what to say.

“I… I’m sorry about your mom,” Mingyu heard himself say.

“You don’t need to be,” Minghao replied, “It wasn’t your fault.” 

The two sat in silence, occasionally sipping from their hot cocoa. Mingyu was pleased to know more of Minghao, but he knew there was more to his story.

“Minghao... can I ask you a question?” Mingyu asked.

“Yeah, what is it?” Minghao asked.

“That night… that you had that nightmare, I heard you sleep talk.”

“You did?” 

“Yeah,” Mingyu said, “I… I heard you say this name over and over… Junhui.” 

Mingyu paused. 

“Minghao, who’s Junhui?”


	16. Chapter 16

Minghao visibly froze. Mingyu could hear his breathing quicken. Minghao blinked multiple times before he took deep breaths and calmed down his breathing. 

“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want,” Mingyu quickly insisted, “We can save this for another day.

“No, I... I should. I haven’t talked about Junhui since...,” Minghao trailed off, “since he left, I guess. It’s time I talk about him again.”

Mingyu put down his finished cup so he could listen better. Minghao took the last sip of his hot cocoa before he put down his cup as well.

“Junhui...,” Minghao said, “Junhui… he’s a... well, a former...  _ friend _ of mine. Junhui’s kind of the reason why I am how I am today.”

“Junhui and I... we met three-ish years ago. We went to the same high school. Why he was even in a school... I don’t know. I never asked. Anyway, he told me he was a vampire and I told him that I was human. After my mother died, I tried to be more open to vampires, in honor of her memory. It was a shock at first, but over time, it didn’t matter anymore. We started talking and became close friends. I told him everything and he did the same. He was a friend that I could confide in, and that’s what I needed especially since I didn’t have anyone.”

“One day... we were hanging out. It was that day that we were also ambushed by his clan since they were upset about his friendship with me. Junhui got seriously hurt protecting me; I barely got him back to my house. To help him heal, I let him feed off of me. To my surprise, and to his as well, he coughed up my blood and fell to the floor the second after he fed. I didn’t even have to wonder what happened because I knew who was behind it.”

Minghao let out a disgusted laugh.

“My father knew all along, and because he knew, he had a hunter group from Busan send him a serum that weakens vampires. He put it in my food and fed it to me; I had it in my blood. Junhui and I were foolish enough to think we could hide it from him, and we ended up going along with what my father wanted to happen. After they took Junhui away, they knocked me unconscious. The next time I woke up, I was in the dungeon that my father keeps the vampires he tortures.”

Minghao breaths started to become uneven as he started to shake.

“Minghao… what’s wrong?” Mingyu asked.

“I... I can’t bring myself to... to say it... again,” Minghao said, “I... I’m sorry, Mingyu.”  

“No, don’t apologize. You’re already doing a lot for me by opening up so much,” Mingyu replied, “Maybe... Maybe you could show me instead?”

Minghao raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened.

“You’re right,” Minghao replied, “You’ll be able to see and live through memories.”

Mingyu nodded.

“In order for me to do that, you have to focus on that memory. When I grab your hands, I’ll be able to live that memory with you.”

“O-Okay,” Minghao said.

Minghao took a deep breath. He closed his eyes as he took heavy breaths.

“I-I’m ready.”

Mingyu held Minghao’s hands in his, and the surroundings around them suddenly disappeared.

_ Mingyu found himself in a dark room with no windows and was only lit up by a couple of lights. The walls were gray. There were a few cells lined up along with chains of metal lying on the floor. There was a stone table with a body on it. The figure was tall. He had black hair that fell messily on his forehead. His clothes were bloodied. His eyes, flashing between brown and redHe was squinting as if the dim lights were too much for him. He was breathing with big gaps in between. His wrists were chains to the table, but it didn’t seem to matter much because the figure looked he they wouldn’t be able to escape, even if the cuffs were off. A tall man with brown hair styled up was standing over the body, observing. _

_ Mingyu looked over and saw another lanky figure wake up. The figure had brown hair falling on his forehead and was drenched in sweat. Mingyu quickly recognized him as Minghao. After the drowsiness wore off, Minghao looked around. He took in the situation and instantly tried to fight the grips of the men that held his arms. Minghao then looked ahead and saw the figure on the table. _

_ “Junhui?” Minghao weakly asked, calling out to the vampire on the table. _

_ “Ming… Minghao,” the vampire on the table whispered.  _

_ “So you do know him,” the man, standing by the table, said. _

_ Minghao looked away and refused to answer.  _

_ “Minghao, I told you to answer me.” _

_ Minghao refused to answer again. The man grew angry. He walked over to Minghao and swung his hand, making contact with Minghao’s cheek. Minghao hissed in pain.  _

_ “Answer me,” he sternly said.  _

_ “Minghao… please, tell him,” Junhui whispered. _

_ Minghao sighed.  _

_ “I… I do,” Minghao whispered, “he’s my friend.” _

_ His dad scoffed. _

_ “You know our rules, Minghao,” his dad said, “We, as vampire hunters, never associate ourselves with vampires. We only kill them, not make friends with them. They’re monsters.” _

_ “Junhui isn’t though,” Minghao insisted, “He’s my best friend. I know him. He’s a good vampire. He’s not those lies you’ve told the other hunters.” _

_ “Stop defending him or else the same thing that happened to your mother will happen to you! You’ll be dead on the sidewalk just like her!” His dad yelled. _

_ “Don’t you dare bring mom into this,” Minghao growled, “She’s dead because she had to save you because you decided to pick a fight that shouldn’t have started in the first place.” _

_ Minghao’s head suddenly turned when his father’s hand collided with his cheek once again. Mingyu gasped then turned his head to see Junhui struggle the break free from the table. Minghao let out heavy breaths as his dad walked away and grabbed a wooden stake off of the rack. He stood over Junhui. Junhui looked up and saw Minghao’s dad standing over him. Junhui’s breaths became choked in his throat. _

_ Minghao knew exactly what he was going to do. _

_ “Dad,” Minghao said, continuing to struggle, “Please don’t do this.” _

_ “Consider this a lesson,” his dad started off, “This is why we are not friends with vampires.” _

_ “Dad, please, I’ll do anything,” Minghao begged, “Please let Junhui go. That’s all I’m asking of you.” _

_ His father glared at him. _

_ “You should’ve thought of this when you decided to be friends with this monster.” _

_ Minghao stopped begging, knowing his father wouldn’t change his mind and that the inevitable was coming. Minghao turned to look at Junhui, who was looking at him as well. Junhui’s eyes were unreadable, and Mingyu could tell that Minghao couldn’t figure out what Junhui was feeling. _

_ “Junhui,” Minghao said, a tear falling down his cheek, “Junhui, I’m sorry.” _

_ Junhui gave him a weak smile. _

_ “D-Don’t be.” _

_ Junhui’s eyes then widened. Minghao screamed as he saw the stake enter Junhui’s chest. Junhui gasped as laid on the table. His eyes never broke away from Minghao’s, even when his skin slowly turned gray. His father pulled away, leaving the stake in Junhui’s chest as he watched Junhui lay lifeless on the table. _

_ The men let go of Minghao, who fell to his knees, tears falling down his face. _

_ “Remember this... when you decide to befriend another vampire.” _

_ His father and the men walked out of sight, leaving Minghao to cry over the lifeless body of yet another vampire that was killed at the hands of his father. _

Mingyu opened his eyes, and suddenly, he was back on the bench at the cafe. Mingyu looked down and saw that Minghao had pulled his hands away.

It all made sense. The nightmare Minghao made sense. Junhui was a close friend of Minghao (though Mingyu suspected they were something more), who was killed by his father. 

His death broke Minghao. 

Mingyu looked down at Minghao, who had a tear falling down his face.

“After Junhui died,” Minghao whispered, his voice shaky, “I swore to myself that I couldn’t let any more vampires die because of me, so I stayed away from them. To make sure my father got off my ass, I went along with his control to please him. Then... Then I saved you, and everything about Junhui and his death came flowing back.”

“That’s... That’s why you ran away the first time we met,” Mingyu said in realization.

“I was scared,” Minghao said, “Scared that something would start between us, scared that I’d fall for you, scared that I’ll have to watch you die at the hands of my father... just like Junhui. I fear him and, ultimately, myself, for what the consequences could be. My father is wrong, but he wasn’t and still isn’t wrong about what he’ll do if I do something like that again.”

Minghao paused.

“Every time I look at you... I see my father putting that stake in Junhui’s heart... and I’m terrified to think that you could be next.”

It was silent for a moment.    __

“Did... Did you love Junhui?” Mingyu asked.

Minghao’s eyes slightly widened.

“I... I don’t know. I always knew he made me feel a certain way, but I never bothered to figure it out. Junhui’s death scared me, and thinking of it haunted me. It still does now, so I never considered what my feelings were for him,” Minghao admit.

A silence sat between them, because Minghao was done talking, and Mingyu didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry, Minghao,” Mingyu said.

“What’s done is done,” Minghao said, “We can’t change what happened.”

Suddenly, Minghao’s phone started to ring. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone before he answered it. 

“Hello?” 

Minghao waited. 

“I’m out. I needed some fresh air. You can't expect me to be fine after training today.” 

Another pause.

“Yes.” 

Pause. 

“Yes, I understand.”

Minghao then hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.

Mingyu looked at him.

“It was my father. He was asking where I was,” Minghao said, “I should go.”

“Oh, okay.” 

Minghao stood up as Mingyu did the same. They threw their disposable cups away before they walked in the direction of Minghao’s house. The walk back was silent, neither of them knowing what to say.

They stopped at the street. The two faced each other, still unsure of what to say. 

“I’ll um… see you when I see you,” Minghao said. 

Minghao turned to the direction of his home. Mingyu knew if he didn't say it now, he would never be able to say it. Before Minghao could walk off, Mingyu wrapped his hand around Minghao’s wrist and stopped him.

“Gyu what-”

“I thought about what you said, about Junhui, and how you had to watch him die at your father’s hand, and that you’re scared to be around me because you’re scared that the same thing could happen to me.”

“Yeah...,” Minghao trailed off.

“And... And that... that doesn't change how I feel about you.”

Minghao furrowed his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m falling for you, Minghao,” Mingyu said. “I have been since you saved me from that trap. Despite your father, you were always so kind to me and always treated me like anyone else. You’re kind. You’re good. You’re… You’re decent. Everything about you has made me fall harder and harder for you and now that I’ve fallen this hard, I don’t want to lose you. If we have to skip circles around your dad and Seungcheol, then so be it. I want to be with you, Xu Minghao, and because I want to be with you, I will take those risks.”

“Mingyu, we  _ can’t _ ,” Minghao emphasized, “If anyone finds out, especially my dad or Seungcheol, we’re done for.”

“Maybe that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

“Mingyu-”

Mingyu interrupted Minghao but connecting their lips together. Mingyu put his hand on Minghao’s back so he couldn’t pull away, but Mingyu could tell Minghao wanted the kiss as much as Mingyu did because he put his hand on Mingyu’s chin and kissed back. The kiss was simple, sweet, soft, and confirmed both of their feelings to be true.

Mingyu pulled away before he took a deep breath.

“Xu Minghao... will you be my boyfriend?”

Minghao visibly gasped before he looked away. He sighed; Minghao pulled his hand away from Mingyu’s face. He held Mingyu’s hands in his before he looked up and reconnected his eyes with Mingyu’s.

“I would love to… but… you have to promise me something.”

“Anything,” Mingyu said.

“You have to promise that... that if you have to choose between me or you, you’ll choose yourself.”

“W-What?” Mingyu asked, his smile dropping.

“You have to promise that, if things go downhill, you’ll be a selfish vampire and choose yourself,” Minghao repeated, “You have to promise that you’ll abandon your human-like nature, forget me, and save yourself. If... If you choose to save me and let yourself die, I will never forgive you or myself.”

Mingyu could tell how shaky his hands had become.

“Mingyu... please promise me this. I can’t start this relationship like this,” Minghao said, his breathing becoming shaky, “I... I can’t be responsible for your death too. Please don’t make me live with that.”

Mingyu stayed silent before he comfortably squeezed Minghao’s hands in return.

“I promise.”

Minghao then gave Mingyu a small smile.

“I guess I should start calling you my boyfriend now.”

Mingyu smiled. He pulled Minghao into a hug. He wrapped his arms around Minghao’s waist as Minghao hooked his arms under Mingyu’s arms and pulled him close, the two words continuing to ring through his head.

_ I promise. _


	17. Chapter 17

Mingyu had waited for times like these. 

He waited for times in which he could wrap his arms around Minghao and hold him. He waited for times in which he could pull Minghao into soft hugs. He waited for times in which he could sneak kisses whenever he could.

Those were times of yearning. Now, he could do all of the above with Minghao.

Mingyu was waiting outside of Minghao’s math classroom, his last class of the day. He had promised to take Minghao out for food after he finished his exam, in a way to “celebrate” his studies. He knew how hard Minghao had been studying for the exam so he thought it was only right that he treated Minghao. 

Mingyu was pulled out of his thoughts when the door to the classroom opened. A group of students walked out. Many were in their own groups, talking, while others rushed off to their next class. Mingyu looked into the crowds of students and saw Minghao walking off in the opposite direction. Mingyu smirked before he zig-zagged his way through the groups of students and followed Minghao. Once he was close enough, he reached his arms out and wrapped them around Minghao’s waist. 

Minghao squeaked and turned around to see that Mingyu was the culprit. Minghao smiled before wrapping his arms around Mingyu’s neck. 

“Hey you,” Minghao greeted.   

“Hey,” Mingyu replied, placing a soft kiss on Minghao’s forehead, “Are you ready to go?”  

Minghao nodded. Mingyu pulled away as Minghao did the same. Mingyu reached out his hand, which Minghao grabbed, allowing their fingers to intertwine. They walked down the hallway and out of the building.

“So where are you taking me?” Minghao asked as they stepped of campus.

“You’ll see,” Mingyu replied with a smirk. 

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Minghao replied, “Are you sure  _ I’m _ not the meal?” 

Mingyu scoffed. 

“Feeding off of my boyfriend? I wouldn’t stoop that low. How dare you even consider that an option. Besides, I don’t like feeding from the vein, especially your veins. You know that.”

“You never know. Maybe you had a change of heart,” Minghao replied.

“I would never, Minghao. Just know that,” Mingyu replied, squeezing Minghao’s hand. 

Minghao smiled and squeezed Mingyu’s hand back. The two continued to walk, laugh, and make jokes. There were often times that people would stare at them, which would make Minghao uncomfortable. Mingyu, however, always pulled Minghao closed and squeezed his hand in comfort. That always made Minghao feel better.

Mingyu then led them to the park. Minghao raised his eyebrow at Mingyu, but Mingyu simply pulled him towards a line of trees that seemed to line the forest. 

Mingyu tightened his hold on Minghao’s hand. 

“Hold on tight, okay?” 

Minghao nodded, and Mingyu ran them into the woods. Minghao watched as they sped past trees and the scenery that seemed to constantly change around them. It was then when Minghao decided that this was one of his favorite feelings in the world. For once in his life, he felt free of the restrictions of his life, free to do whatever he wanted, free to run away. 

Suddenly, they stopped. Minghao looked up at Mingyu, who motioned to the scene in front of them. Minghao’s mouth gaped open as his eyes widened. 

It was an open field. The grass was a beautiful green and shone in the sunlight. Next to the patch of green was a field of sunflowers that seemed to stretch for miles. Minghao looked down at the ground and saw that there was a picnic blanket and basket set up. 

Minghao looked up at Mingyu. 

“You set this up?” 

“Of course,” Mingyu replied, “I wanted to do special for you since you’ve been working so hard on your school work on top of all of your hunter stuff. You deserve something special.” 

“Thank you, Gyu,” Minghao said. 

Mingyu simply nodded he lead Minghao to the picnic blanket. He helped Minghao sit down before he sat down himself. He grabbed the picnic basket and opened it to reveal a container of rice, fried chicken, and kimchi. There was also a blood bag for Mingyu to feed on but Minghao didn’t pay much attention to it.  

“You cooked this?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah,” Mingyu replied, “You know, I almost became a culinary major in college. But, I knew deep down that I liked helping people more than I liked cooking, so I decided to keep cooking a hobby and went for a psychology major,” Mingyu replied. 

“Wow,” Minghao said, “You’re amazing.” 

“Not as amazing as you.” 

Minghao blushed and looked away. Mingyu softly smiled before he lifted up Minghao’s hand and place a kiss on it. 

“Shall we?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao smiled and nodded. Mingyu then handed Minghao a pair of chopsticks before he grabbed his own. Mingyu then proceeded to open all of the containers and set it out in front of him and Minghao. The two then started to eat while they talked, laughed, and joked with each other. Occasionally, Mingyu would grab some kimchi with his chopsticks and feed it to Minghao, who always took it. 

Awhile later, an empty blood bag and empty containers were put back in the basket. Minghao was laying his head on Mingyu’s chest. He had his eyes closed, enjoying the peace he felt around him as Mingyu ran his hands through his hair. It seemed like they were there for hours, laying there with each other. Not many words were spoken, and none needed to be. Being within each other’s presence was enough. 

“How did you find this place, Gyu?” Minghao asked. 

“I had nothing to do, so I went for a run. I lost track of my distance, and I stumbled into this field. I was amazed, seeing it for the first time; it has a special glow to it. It didn’t look like it was claimed by either vampire or hunter. This place reminded me of you, so I thought this could be our own special place,” Mingyu replied.

“It really is nice,” Minghao agreed, “This place reminds you of me? How?” 

“You have a special glow to you. Being around you makes me feel happier and brightens up my world. I see the world in brighter colors now. The sun shines brighter when I’m with you,” Mingyu explained, “Most of all, it reminded me of you because… because you’re my sunflower.”

Minghao smiled before he leaned up and connected his lips with Mingyu’s. Mingyu’s eyes widened before he smiled against the kiss, held Minghao’s chin, and kissed him back. Their lips moved gracefully together, being drawn to the sweet taste of each other and wanting more every time Minghao pulled away for a gasp of air. 

Minghao then gently pushed Mingyu against the ground before he leaned in and connected their lips once again. This time, neither of them pulled away and instead allowed each other to deepen the kiss. Mingyu poked his tongue and ran it along Minghao’s lips. Minghao smiled and slightly opened his mouth, allowing Mingyu inside. 

Minghao didn’t fight because he was knew he was ready to submit, submit to his feelings for Mingyu, and submit to Mingyu. He allowed Mingyu to fully taste him, not even bothering to put up a fight anymore. He had been fighting his fear and his feelings for so long, and he finally felt free of his demons when he admitted that he had fallen for Mingyu, and that Mingyu was good, decent, and would keep him safe and be with him for who he is beyond the vampire hunter layer he showed.

Minghao was scared to pull away, scared this would be the first and last time he would have Mingyu like this, scared he would lose Mingyu, just like he lost Junhui.

The mood was interrupted when Minghao’s phone started to ring. Minghao pulled away before groaned and sat up. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He looked at the screen before he sighed, turned off the alarm, and put his phone back into his pocket. 

“You set an alarm?” Mingyu asked. 

“Yeah, for our time together, just in case, so my father wouldn’t get suspicious of my whereabouts,” Minghao replied, “I should go before I get a phone call from him.” 

Mingyu nodded before he sat up and stood up from the blanket. He reached his hands out and helped Minghao up. Minghao then proceeded to fold up the blanket and closed the picnic basket. Once he had gathered everything, he held Minghao’s hand in his before he ran them back to civilization. 

Once Mingyu reached Minghao’s house, he stopped. He turned to face Minghao. 

“I guess it’s time for you to go,” Mingyu said.

“Yeah,” Minghao said with a sad sigh, “Thank you for today, Gyu. I… I haven’t had days like this in a long time.” 

“Since when?” Mingyu asked. 

“Since Junhui.” 

“Oh,” Mingyu softly said, “Well, as long as you’re with me, I promise more days like this.” 

Minghao looked up with a soft smile on his face. 

“I look forward to it.” 

Mingyu smiled before kissing Minghao’s forehead, sealing the promise before wrapping his arms around Minghao’s waist and pulling him into a hug. Minghao smiled, wrapping his arms around Mingyu’s neck and resting his head against Mingyu’s chest.

“I’ll see you later?” Mingyu whispered. 

“Yeah,” Minghao said with a small nod. 

Minghao pulled away from Mingu’s embrace and turned towards the direction of his home. He looked back at Mingyu one last time before he walked off. Mingyu made sure he made it inside the house before he ran off to his home. 

Once Mingyu got back home, he saw Seokmin starting to walk in. 

“Seokmin!” he called out.

Seokmin looked back at him and smiled. 

“Hey,” he greeted as Mingyu walked up to him, “Where have you been all day?” 

“I’ve… I’ve been… fe-um, patrolling,” Mingyu replied in a stutter. 

Seokmin narrowed his eyebrows. 

“I just got back from patrolling,” Seokmin replied, “And I don’t recall Seungcheol asking you to come with me.” 

“Well, I figured I would go too. I don’t have that much to do, so I went out as well.” 

Mingyu subconsciously turned his gaze to the ground; he could feel Seokmin’s eyes on him. 

“I can smell a human scent on you,” Seokmin said, “The only reason why you’d have a human scent is if you fed straight from the vein, and you don’t like feeding from the vein.” 

Seokmin paused.

You’re lying. Where were you really?” 

Before Mingyu could reply, the door opened. The two looked at the door and saw Seungcheol and Joshua standing in the doorway. 

“Oh,” Seungcheol said, “You two are back. Well, Joshua and I are headed out on a date and grab more blood bags and medical materials. Nothing else needs to be done so feel free to do whatever as long as it doesn’t attract any attention.”

“What about Chan?” Seokmin asked. 

“Chan is doing really great actually. His control over his hunger has greatly improved. It won't be too long until I allow him out,” Seungcheol replied, “And I know he’s itching to get out. I can see the way he looks at the door.” 

“Now he knows how we felt,” Mingyu said before he let out a small laugh. 

“Indeed,” Seungcheol said in a joking tone, “Well, regarding Chan, he just fed, but he’s doing well with his control so I would give him space to help control the hunger on his own. I do, however, want you to keep an eye on him in case anything happens. Understood?”

The two nodded. Seungcheol and Joshua then looked at each other before they grabbed each other’s hands and ran off. 

Before Mingyu could walk away, Seokmin grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

“I know you’re lying,” Seokmin whispered, “But, as your best friend, I trust that, whatever you’re hiding, isn’t dangerous. If you’re involving yourself with humans… just… be careful before Seungcheol involves himself as well. You know how bitter he is towards them after what they did to Jeonghan.”

“I-I know,” Mingyu replied. 

“All of us would be hurt if something happened to you,” Seokmin said, “Just… don’t do anything stupid.” 

Mingyu nodded. 

“I promise.” 

Seokmin nodded before he let go of Mingyu’s wrist and let him walk inside. Seokmin wondered where Mingyu had been and why he had been happier these days, but he better than to pry, so he shook his head before he followed Mingyu inside the house.


	18. Chapter 18

Soonyoung could tell that there was something…  _ off _ about Minghao. 

Over the years of their friendship, Soonyoung had learned about Minghao’s small habits and antics. That was constant over the years. In the past week  _ alone _ , all of that had deviated. 

First off, Minghao was never always, this  _ happy _ . He knew it was because of the relationship with his dad and all of the collateral damage that came with it. Minghao went through his days with barely smiling or laughing. Now, there were days that Minghao would smile at his phone, while working on traps, or just smiling in general. Occasionally, he would laugh at Soonyoung’s dumb jokes, which Soonyoung knew never happened.

Second off, Minghao complained less. When his dad wasn’t around, Minghao would complain about anything: his dad, how the other hunters always failed to make the traps right and how tired he was of finishing them off for them, how checking the perimeter was boring and repetitive; the list went on. Now, Minghao went about their hunter chores without saying much at all. He often went through it smiling, which never happened.

Third off, Minghao had an overall positive energy to him. Soonyoung knew about Junhui, and that Minghao hadn’t been the same since his dad had killed him. That was something Minghao should’ve been happy about, but Soonyoung couldn’t understand why it had done the opposite to him; Junhui was a vampire, and Soonyoung knew that, as a hunter, he existed to hate and kill vampires, and Minghao should’ve been the same, being the son of one of the best vampire hunters, so he couldn’t understand why Minghao had that kind of attraction towards him.  

But since Junhui’s death, Minghao had that same energy again. He was walking around with a small smile on his face. He went through their duties without any negative comments, and he just looked better overall. 

Soonyoung couldn’t figure it out. 

“Soonyoung, are you listening?” 

Soonyoung snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Leader Xu, who was looking directly at him along with the rest of the hunters.

Soonyoung quickly nodded. 

“Yes, Leader Xu.” 

Leader Xu nodded before he continued to talk. 

“Tomorrow, we will continue experimenting with the sage. We will also be patrolling and checking traps as well as finishing up the traps since the ones in the woods are getting quite old. Also, practice for the stakes will take place tomorrow too. I see that some of us are getting rusty with them,” Leader Xu said. 

“Leader Xu?” One of the hunters asked. 

“Yes, Seungkwan?” Leader Xu asked. 

“Where has Minghao been? He hasn’t been helping us with anything. We nearly wasted supplies yesterday when we put a trap together wrong yesterday,” Seungkwan asked. 

Leader Xu’s face changed. That surprised Soonyoung since he knew that Leader Xu was a stoic man; he never showed emotion or conveyed any to others. He claimed showing emotion was a weakness and should never be shown. He tried to convince the other hunters to be the same, but not many had been able to be the same.

His straight-laced face turned into a scowl. 

“He’s been… out on his own, apparently,” Leader Xu replied, “he’s claiming that he’s been patrolling and checking traps on his own time, says that he works better alone. That’s precisely why he’s not at the meeting tonight. He’s said he would come in and help make traps but he hasn’t been since. I don’t know if those are his real whereabouts, but I can only assume that he’s telling the truth because he  _ knows _ what’ll happen if he lies to me.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widened as the rest whispered among themselves. 

“As long as we’re on that topic,” Leader Xu said in a louder voice, “I want to congratulate everyone for their work lately. My son is supposed to be helping lead you through it all, but it seems like he’s forgotten his priorities these days and has been greatly lacking, so I appreciate the assumed leadership and extra work everyone has been putting in.”

He nodded with a slight smile as everyone clapped for themselves. Soonyoung looked at everyone, confused, before he slowly started to clap as well. Leader Xu started to talk again as the clapping quieted down.

“Good job everyone. We’ll continue tomorrow. Rest for tonight and we’ll start again tomorrow.” 

Everyone nodded before they started to get up. Soonyoung started to stand up from the couch and walk to his room. Before he could, Leader Xu called out his name. 

“Soonyoung?” 

He turned back. 

“Yes, sir?” 

“Could you stay back for a bit? I wanted to talk to you about something,” Leader Xu said. 

Soonyoung nodded and stood by Leader Xu as the rest of the hunters started to walk out of the room. Vernon gave him a look with narrowed eyes before they walked out. Once the room was empty, Leader Xu cleared his throat. 

“Now, Soonyoung, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” He started off. 

“Never, Leader Xu,” Soonyoung replied. 

“Well, I trust that you will tell me the truth then,” Leader Xu said, “Where  _ has _ Minghao been lately?”

“Oh… and… and you chose to ask me, sir?” Soonyoung asked. 

“Yes. I know you are Minghao’s closest friend, so there’s not much of a doubt that he wouldn’t tell you.”

“Oh,” Soonyoung said. 

“So you do know where he is then?” Leader Xu asked him. 

Soonyoung thought for a moment. Minghao usually did tell him where he was going instead of his father, whether it was hunter practice or class, so Soonyoung could cover for him if his father asked about his whereabouts. Minghao was the first person that talked to him when he first joined the hunters and became his best friend over that time, so it was the least he could do, considering Minghao’s relationship with his father. 

It then hit him when he realized that he didn’t know where Minghao had been. He noticed that Minghao was sneaking out here and there, but he hadn’t said anything before or after he came back. Soonyoung assumed he was late or in a rush, but then he realized that Minghao never told him where he was going anymore. Minghao always told him where he was going to be before he left. If Minghao hadn’t been doing that, Soonyoung started to wonder if he was going somewhere else out of hunter responsibilities and school.  

Soonyoung sighed. 

“I… I don’t know, sir,” Soonyoung said. 

Leader Xu furrowed his eyebrows. 

“You two are always talking. Why  _ don’t _ you know?” Leader Xu asked. 

“Minghao simply hasn’t told me. Since Minghao hasn’t said anything to me, I don’t know,” Soonyoung replied, “I’m sorry, Leader Xu.” 

Leader Xu sighed in frustration. 

“And you’re completely honest about this?” 

“Yes,” Soonyoung replied. 

“Okay,” Leader Xu said in defeat, “Well, he may be telling the truth, for once. Just in case, keep an extra eye out for him, and if anything out of the ordinary happens, tell me, and I’ll talk to Minghao myself.”

“With all due respect, sir,” Soonyoung started off, “I think Minghao can take care of himself. He’s the one that is most skilled out of all of us, after you of course. He  _ is _ twenty after all. I can simply tell him so he is aware of what he’s doing. I don’t think it would be necessary for you to intervene.”

“He’s the future of the hunters, the one that will take over after me. He needs to hear it from me, a leader, if he’s going to start acting like a leader,” Leader Xu replied, “You can go now, Soonyoung. Remember to report to me if you know anything else.” 

Soonyoung nodded and bowed before he walked towards his room. He decided to check in on Minghao. He stopped at Minghao’s door and knocked. 

“Come in,” a soft voice said. 

Soonyoung turned the knob and gently pushed open the door. He looked into the room and saw Minghao close the window before he sat, cross-legged, on his bed. He smiled as he looked down at his phone.

Now was the time to ask. Soonyoung was curious himself, so now was a good time to get some answers. 

“Minghao?” Soonyoung asked.

“Yes?” Minghao asked, looking up from his phone.

“Your dad… he um… had a talk with me earlier.”

Minghao visibly froze. He typed something quick before he locked it and put it beside him.

“What did he say?” 

Soonyoung sighed before he sat down next to Minghao. 

“I don’t think he trusts what you’ve been telling him, so he asked about your whereabouts,” Soonyoung replied, “I’m not even sure where you’ve been, so I couldn’t even tell him. That conversation… also made me wonder too.”

Soonyoung paused. 

“Minghao… where  _ have _ you been? You haven’t even told me, and you always tell me before you run off.” 

Minghao avoided eye contact with Soonyoung.

“I… I’ve been doing what I said I’ve been doing. I wasn’t at the meeting tonight because I was brushing up on my hunter skills.”

Minghao was always a direct person. If someone asked him a direct question, he would give a direct answer. When Minghao avoided looking at him along with hesitating, it was already a sign that Minghao wasn’t being entirely truthful. 

Soonyoung narrowed his eyes.  

“Minghao... I’ve known you for a long time now. I can tell when you’re lying to me, so you can’t lie, especially now.”

“I’m not.”

“And there’s another lie.”

“Soonyoung-”

“Your dad knows that something is up. Now I’m starting to see that something is up. At least tell me so I can cover you,” Soonyoung insisted.

Minghao shook his head. 

“I’ve told you where I’ve been. There’s no need to say anything else.”

Soonyoung could feel frustration running through his veins.

“What happened to our vow to never hide any secrets from each other?”

“That was when my mom was alive and when we were kids. Now, my mom is dead and we’re not kids anymore.”

“And suddenly your mom’s death changes everything? Last time I checked, that’s now how things work.”

“With how our life is, it is. My life turned to shit the moment my dad started to pick fights he knew he wouldn’t win, and he made my mom pay the ultimate price. He made Junhui pay the price.”

“Don’t say that. Junhui was a vampire. He was a monster. They’re all mon-”

Minghao glared at him. If looks could kill, Soonyoung would’ve been on the floor with a fatal wound.

“She was completely innocent. I was completely innocent. After my dad taught me how to take a life of another... and after he took away Junhui... that vow broke. I’m not the innocent Minghao that promised to not keep any secrets anymore. I don’t owe anyone the thoughts or secrets that run through my mind, so please just leave me alone.”

“Minghao-”

“I’m done talking,” Minghao said, “You should go. I have homework to finish.”

“Minghao-”

“I said, go.” 

Soonyoung jumped at Minghao’s reaction. He quietly gasped when he saw how Minghao’s face had changed. His eyes were glassy and tears threatened to spill out. He was trembling. 

Soonyoung sighed. 

“Okay.”

He stood up and started to walk towards the door. He reached out and grabbed the knob before he pulled the door open. Without another word, he walked out, closed the door behind him, and walked to his own room. 


	19. Chapter 19

Minghao knew he was starting to lead unwanted suspicion towards himself. He didn’t want to; he tried so hard to cover his tracks, but he couldn’t. 

He loved being with Mingyu. 

It didn’t even matter what they did, whether they decided to go out and eat, take a walk, do something like spontaneous like bowling, or something simple like sit in their sunflower field and watch the sunset. Sometimes, Minghao wouldn’t have the time to relax with Mingyu; sometimes, he would have to sit in Mingyu’s room and read or do homework, which Mingyu didn’t mind, as long as he could wrap his arms around Mingao’s waist and steal kisses. Minghao knew he could push Mingyu away and tell him he needed to work, but they both knew that he loved the small kisses Mingyu gave him. 

Minghao just loved it all, loved being with Mingyu. Mingyu made him feel safe. Mingyu made him feel free, like he wasn’t tied down to the responsibilities that were forced onto him by his father. Mingyu made him feel peace he hadn’t known for a long time.

But the rational part of Minghao’s subconscious told him that, if he had let himself go too much, his father, Soonyoung, and the other hunters would find out about his relationship with Mingyu, and they would only take him away, just like they took away Junhui. 

It meant he had to be home and participate in meetings, even if he didn’t want to. It meant sleeping in his own bed, even if he didn’t want to. It meant playing the role of someone his father wanted to be, even if he didn’t want to. 

That was why Minghao wasn’t spending his evening with Mingyu. It had explained he was sitting on the forest floor, messing with his gun, watching the rest of the hunters practice instead of finishing up his homework. 

Many of them liked shooting the gun that held the wooden bullets. There were few of them in lined up in front of the targets, waiting for their turn to take a shot. Others had wooden stakes in their hands and threw them at other targets while some were practicing hand-to-hand combat in the rare instance they ran into a vampire without a weapon.

He could see Soonyoung helping some of the other hunters with their stances in their combat. It made sense to Minghao since combat was always Soonyoung’s strength.

Minghao usually liked to practice on his own, so he usually just watched and fixed up his gun, unless if any of the hunters asked for his tips and advice, then he would get up and help.

“Minghao?” 

Minghao looked up and saw one of the newer hunters, not much older than sixteen, looking down at him. 

“Hey, Samuel,” Minghao greeted, “What’s up?” 

“I um… I’m having trouble aiming,” Samuel shyly said, “Could you help me?” 

Minghao smiled and nodded. He put his gun in his belt before he stood up and followed Samuel to a target he was practicing on. Minghao could see the holes in the target made by the missed shots. Some of the hunters looked at Minghao’s reaction at all of the missed shots and started to snicker. 

Minghao glared at them, satisfied when he saw them cower and look away. He smiled in satisfaction before he looked at Samuel.

“This is something I used to struggle with too,” Minghao said, “So, I have a few tips for you.” 

Samuel beamed and nodded as Minghao started to give him some pointers. 

Minghao was completely focused on helping Samuel that he didn’t see his father quietly watching them. Leader Xu stood from a distance and watched as Minghao helped Samuel’s stance while the other hunters turned back and watched him in amazement. Leader Xu then watched Minghao point at the target before he moved Samuel’s arms and hands while he talked. 

Leader Xu almost smirked, knowing that’s how he taught Minghao how to shoot a gun. 

Leader Xu then watched as Samuel started to ready himself to take a shot. Minghao intently watched as Samuel put his fingers on his trigger and took the shot. Minghao’s eyes widened when Samuel shot the middle of the target. Samuel looked up at Minghao, excitedly, before he bowed and assumingly thanked Minghao. Minghao smiled and rubbed his head before he walked away and allowed Samuel and the rest of the hunters to practice. 

It was then when Minghao saw Leader Xu watching him. He looked away as he walked past his father. Minghao tried to walk away, but before he could, his father grabbed his wrist. Minghao stopped but refused to look up at him.

“I watched you help Samuel,” his father said, “He really improved after you helped him.” 

“I know. He needed my help, so I did,” Minghao replied. 

“This is what you’re meant to do, Minghao,” his father replied, “You saw how much better Samuel was after you helped him. You’re supposed to do this.” 

“But what if I don’t want to do this?” Minghao asked, “I helped him because he needed my help, but I’m not going to lead a group that’s going to kill vampires.” 

“Minghao, you know what they did to your mother.”

Minghao then looked up at his father.

“And I know what you did to Junhui.” 

Before his father could say anything back, Hansol called out his name. 

“Leader Xu?” 

His father looked back. 

“Yes?” 

“The sun is starting to set. Should we head back?” Hansol asked. 

His father looked up at the sky, seeing the colors of yellow and orange start to paint the sky. He then looked at the other hunters, who were starting to slow because of exhaustion.

“Yeah. We’ll cook, eat, have a quick meeting, and then go to sleep,” he said, “gather the rest of the hunters and start to head back towards the house.” 

Hansol nodded and bowed before he walked back towards the other hunters. Minghao and his father looked back at each other. 

“We’re not done with this conversation,” his father said, “start heading back to the house.”

“Actually, father,” Minghao started, “I want to stay back and practice. I’ve been lacking, and if I want to help the other hunters like I did with Samuel, I should brush up on my skills.”  

His father sighed before he nodded. 

“Fine. Just make sure you’re back for the meeting.” 

Minghao nodded. He watched as his father and Hansol pulled the hunters away from their respective places and gather them to head back to the house. Soonyoung looked at Minghao with furrowed eyebrows, but Minghao simply waved his hand before he took his gun out and prepared to shoot. Soonyoung looked away and started to walk away with the others. It was quiet, and most people might have found that uncomfortable, but Minghao liked it. He liked the peace and quiet. He liked to be alone, away from his problems and away from the frustration he had when he talked to his father.   

He stood in front of the target and readied his gun, putting in a wooden bullet. He was ready to shoot, ready to shoot away his problems and make it go away.

He focused on the middle, the breeze of the flying bullet, and the power it had when it struck its target. He concentrated on his stance and aim, making sure he was in the perfect position to meet his target. He pulled the trigger, watching the bullet shoot through the air, and make a  _ pop _ when he hit the bullseye. 

He smirked when he saw the hole in the middle of the target.

“I didn’t realize my boyfriend was so talented.”

Minghao turned and smiled, seeing Mingyu leaning against a tree that was beside him. 

“Well… my father’s put me through rigorous training since I was twelve years old. I’ve had plenty of time to practice and improve,” Minghao said, “How did you know to find me here?”

“You weren’t answering my texts. I figured you were working on hunter stuff or something, so I ran out here and saw you practicing,” Mingyu replied.

“Yeah. Somehow... it calms me,” Minghao said.

“More than hugs from me?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao gave him a soft smile. 

“Definitely not. Your hugs are much more calming,” Minghao replied, “I would actually like one of those hugs right now.”

Mingyu smiled. He didn’t hesitate to stand up straight and walk up to Minghao. Minghao dropped his gun before Mingyu reached his arms out and wrapped his arms around Minghao’s waist. Minghao rested his head on Mingyu’s chest and lovingly sighed before wrapping his arms around Mingyu’s torso

“I missed you, my sunflower,” Mingyu whispered before kissing the top of Minghao’s head.

“I missed you too,” Minghao said in the same tone, “I’m just used to spending every evening with you. Being here… just felt weird, and just reminded me how messed up my life is.”

Minghao could feel Mingyu freeze in his arms. Mingyu put his hand under Minghao’s chin, making him look up at Mingyu. He could see the distress on Minghao’s face.

“What’s happened?”

Mingha sighed.

“Usual shit. My father has been getting on my case, saying how this is something I’m meant to do. I just… I hate that he thinks he knows what I should do and what’s best for me,” Mingahao replied, “and now Soonyoung started has too. He’s upset that I’ve been keeping my whereabouts a secret, and it’s not like I can tell him I can I’m with you because I know how he feels about vampires. He even brought my mom into it, and he knows not too.”

“Oh, baby,” Mingyu replied, pulling Minghao into an even tighter hug.

“I just… I’m sick and tired of everything, Gyu. I just want it all to stop,” Minghao whispered. 

“I know, baby. One day, it’ll stop, and everything will be okay.”

Minghao steadied his breathing before he slowly nodded.

“Is there anything I can do to help you now though? You know, food, hugs, kisses?” 

“Just stay with me. I don’t want at home or think about it right now.”

Mingyu nodded. They continued to stay like that. Mingyu kept his arms around Minghao’s waist while Minghao kept his arms around Mingyu’s torso, his grip tightening by the minute as if his life depended on it.

Mingyu pulled his arms away and instead held Minghao’s hands.

“Can I take you home? It’s getting dark and Seungcheol’s going to send scouts out soon.”

“Actually… can I go home with you? My father and I… we uh, had a rough conversation, and it’s a conversation I don’t really feel like finishing right now."

“Yeah, of course,” Mingyu said with a smile, “Let’s go.” 

Mingyu held Minghao’s hand and ran them to his home. Just as he had opened his bedroom window, his senses perked up. Mingyu looked up, his eyes flashing red. Something didn’t feel right; he looked around, but he didn’t see anything, even with his senses. 

“Gyu? Is something wrong?” Minghao asked. 

Mingyu shook his head. 

“It’s probably nothing,” Mingyu replied, “My senses just… they get jumpy sometimes. I probably just need to feed or something to calm them down.”

Minghao thought for a moment before he nodded understandingly. Mingyu then help out his hand and Mingyu lead him through his bedroom window before closing it behind them. He turned on the light and the two got ready for bed. Minghao yawned before he laid in Mingyu’s bed. 

Mingyu turned off the light before he laid down next to Minghao and pulled him in so his back hit his chest. 

“Good night, Haohao,” Mingyu whispered, kissing the top of his head. 

Minghao hummed. It wasn’t long before Minghao’s breathing evened and slowed down. He heard Minghao’s heart slow down, showing Minghao’s had fallen asleep. He pulled Minghao even closer, making sure he was comfortable and would sleep well.


	20. Chapter 20

Before Mingyu could even realize it, the sun had risen in the air. The birds started to chirp as the sun’s rays started to shine through Mingyu’s window. 

The night had gone better than most nights. Since they started dating, Minghao’s nightmares about his dad and Junhui came up more frequently. There were many times Mingyu would have to wake up Minghao, calm him down, and tell him that everything was okay and that it was just a dream. 

This night, Mingyu watched Minghao as he usually did. A smile made a way to his face when he knew that Minghao had slept soundly. Nothing too erratic happened, so Minghao was able to sleep peacefully. It’s what Mingyu wanted when he slept over; it’s what he deserved if he was going to be away from home for the night. 

This morning, Mingyu thought he would do a little bit more than usual. He gently unwrapped his arms from Minghao’s waist. He threw the blanket off as he sat at the edge of the bed. He stood up and went to his closet. He changed in black jeans and a red hoodie before he went to the bathroom to wash his face and comb through hair. Once he walked out of the bathroom, he looked at Minghao, who was still sleeping peacefully. Mingyu smiled before he walked towards the door of his room. He walked out and closed the door behind him before walking to the kitchen. 

He was lucky to not run into any of the other vampires, especially Seungcheol. He could only assume that Seungcheol was with Joshua and that the other vampires were still out finishing their feeding or spending time in their rooms.

Once Mingyu reached the kitchen, he looked around for ingredients. Although vampires didn’t really  _ need _ to eat food to survive, many vampires in the house still enjoyed the taste of human food, so Mingyu could always count on there being groceries in the kitchen when he was in a mood to cook. 

He knew it was different this time since he was cooking for an actual human being so he knew he had to his absolute best, especially since this said human was his boyfriend, who would most likely find comfort in this food.

Mingyu went with a western style breakfast. He started to get out ingredients for pancakes, bacon, and eggs. He turned on the stove and started to get his ingredients ready.

He had just started pouring the pancake batter into the pan when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Seokmin walk into the kitchen.

“Hey,” Mingyu greeted.

“Hey,” Seokmin replied with a small smile, “You’re making breakfast?” 

“Yeah. I was in a mood. I can’t always drink blood. I need some flavor in my life,” Mingyu said with a small laugh before he put the finished pancake on the plate. 

“I can understand that,” Seokmin said with a nod. 

“I didn’t see you at all yesterday. What were you doing?” Mingyu asked, making another pancake. 

“I was out and about. Seungcheol had me check the perimeter, again. After I was finished with that, he had me help Chan. He’s ready to go out soon, and Seungcheol thought that, since I’m one of the newer vampires after him, I would be able to give some tips on how to control it outside because there are more temptations to feed and expose ourselves,” Seokmin replied. 

“And were you able to?” Mingyu asked. 

“Yeah. Chan seemed to appreciate it a lot,” Seokmin replied, “He’s really excited to go out again. You know he hasn’t been out since Seungcheol brought him in. I can understand he would be happy to be outside again.”

“Yeah. I definitely understand that,” Mingyu agreed, starting to crack some eggs before flipping his last pancake, “What else did you do?” 

“After I helped with Chan, I started to feel hungry, so I fed for a bit. After that, I went out and just… observed humans,” Seokmin replied, which made Mingyu raise an eyebrow, “not in a creepy way, if that’s what you're wondering. I just… I miss being human sometimes, so I go and watch how they go about their days. When I watch them, I realize how fragile and finite human life is, something I didn’t even realize as a human.”

“Yeah. I didn’t even realize how susceptible I was to death as a human. Thinking about it now, as an immortal vampire, kind of scares me,” Mingyu said, “I wonder how humans deal with it.” 

“I think you could ask your human about that,” Seokmin nonchalantly said with a small awkward laugh. 

Mingyu’s eyes widened. He flipped the pancake a bit too high, making it flip into the air. Thanks to his vampire reflexes, he was able to catch the pancake. He turned off the stove before he turned to Seokmin. 

“What… What?” Mingyu asked, “Seokmin, you… you know?” 

Seokmin slowly nodded. 

“I do,” he replied, “I stayed out later than usual watching those humans. After I decided to go back, I heard footsteps where your bedroom was, so I went to check it out. When I got there, I saw you open your bedroom window. You almost seemed to catch onto me.”

“That… That was you,” Mingyu realized. 

“Yeah,” Seokmin confessed with a shrug, “It wasn’t long after that you helped someone else in. You seemed really protective over him. The way you were helping him was like… you were handing glass: delicately. I could only guess that he was a human and that he really means a lot to you.”

“Y-Yeah,” Mingyu replied, “Seokmin-”

“Mingyu, listen.”

Mingyu stopped talking. 

Seokmin sighed. 

“I... I won’t tell Seungcheol about him. You’re the one that was there for me when I transitioned, and you’ve been my closest friend since. Plus, this guy seems really special to you, and… and I can’t take that away from you. I just... I should warn you. I’ve had my suspicions, and it seems like they were right, but Joshua’s also been watching you. He also has his suspicions, and he’s been giving them to Seungcheol. I don’t know how long it’ll be before he figures it out. Just... be careful around Joshua and especially Seungcheol. You know how Seungcheol is around humans.” 

“I know,” Mingyu replied, “because of Jeonghan.”

Seokmin sighed.

“You know what they did to Jeonghan. You remember how it broke Seungcheol and long it took for him to heal.”

“I know.”

“I’m just making sure you do. I just... I just don’t want you to be next. I know Seungcheol won’t be able to handle it. I won’t be able to handle it,” Seokmin said, “But… But, regardless, I trust you, Mingyu. I trust that you’re making the right decisions and that you know what you’re doing.”

“I do, Seok,” Mingyu replied, “I know it’s hard to believe, considering the humans’ track record, but I know this human is good. I know what I’m doing and I know that I’m making good decisions. You just have to trust that I know and that I’m not making a fatal mistake.” 

Seokmin stayed silent. He let out an eventual sigh. 

“Everything in my body tells me to take this human away from you,” Seokmin said, “but I trust you to make good decisions.” 

Mingyu smiled. 

“Thanks, Seok.” 

Seokmin smiled before he gave Mingyu a quick hug.

“I um… I’ll leave you to make breakfast for him. Make sure not to mess up in front of him,” Seokmin teased. 

Mingyu gave a playful scoff before Seokmin stuck out his tongue and walked out of the kitchen. 

Mingyu smiled before he turned on the stove and started to cook for Minghao once again. 

Mingyu was happy to know that Seokmin would keep Minghao a secret. That’s how he wanted to keep it, knowing Seungcheol and all, and it only made him feel better knowing Seokmin would keep the secret as well. Mingyu figured that Seokmin was a very kind person as a human because it had seemed to stayed with him even when he became a vampire. Mingyu considered Seokmin as his closest friend, and yet, he was scared of the reaction he would get from him if he ever told Seokmin about Minghao. 

Mingyu’s smile grew even bigger when he finished the meal. He gathered the food onto the plate. He then poured some milk into a cup before he grabbed the plate and cup, put it in a tray, and walked back to his room. 


	21. Chapter 21

It was a fairly good night for Minghao. 

Some nights, even when he slept at Mingyu’s house, the night of Junhui’s death and even his mother’s death would haunt him. That night, he dreamt of a perfect day with Mingyu. He and Mingyu had a simple day, laying with each other in their sunflower field, talking, and sometimes even laying in silence before they went to the rooftop and watched the sunset.

It was a perfect day, but that’s why Minghao knew it was a dream; his life wasn’t that perfect, and he shouldn’t expect it to be real. 

When Minghao woke up, he didn’t expect to wake up alone. He sat up from Mingyu’s bed and looked over to Mingyu’s side to see that the blanket and pillow had been completely abandoned. 

“Mingyu?” Minghao asked. 

There wasn't a response. 

“Mingyu?” Minghao asked again. 

Minghao suddenly heard the doorknob. He jumped as the door opened. It revealed to be Mingyu, who was carrying a tray in his hands. Minghao immediately calmed down and smiled as he watched his boyfriend close the door behind him and walk towards him. He almost laughed when he saw that Mingyu had almost tripped but quickly caught himself and continued to walk to him. 

“Is that how you got your foot caught in that trap when we first met?” Minghao asked with a smirk. 

“No,” Mingyu huffed, “I…”

Mingyu put down the tray of food before he took a moment to think. Minghao watched him, amused, waiting for him to give an answer.

“Well, I’m not admitting you’re right,” Mingyu then said.

“You must have been worse as a human because you’re awfully clumsy for a vampire. You’re lucky you have those enhanced abilities to keep you on your toes,” Minghao said.

“Shut up. You love me, and my clumsiness,” Mingyu teased, “just like I love you, and your softness that runs to your core.”

Minghao blinked multiple times, shocked at what Mingyu said. Mingyu realized what he said; he looked away, embarrassed. 

The air was now silent around them. Neither of them knew what to say. Minghao stayed silent, his head now wrapped around that word:  _ love _ . He couldn’t dare say the word anymore, not since Junhui. 

_ Junhui.  _

It was the one thing he kept from Mingyu. It was one thing he lied about. He felt bad that he kept it from Mingyu, but it was a part of his past that hurt him. Minghao then sighed. Mingyu was someone important in his life, so he figured Mingyu had a right to know.

“Minghao?” 

Minghao pulled himself out of his thoughts. He could see the worry that was spread across Mingyu’s face. He could see it in his eyes. He could tell there was confusion. His mouth had a slight frown, as if he truly believed he did mess everything up. 

Minghao knew he didn’t. Minghao just had to face his fear and show Mingyu that he didn’t mess up and actually did quite the opposite. 

“Mingyu?” Minghao started off.

“What?” Mingyu asked.

“I… I lied.” 

“Lied? About what?” 

“About Junhui… when you first confessed… when you asked me if I loved him or not,” Minghao replied before he sighed, “I did love him.”

Mingyu’s eyes widened.

“You did?” 

Minghao nodded; he then sighed.

“I’m about to tell you and show you something I haven’t told anyone. I should’ve told you when you first confessed and when we were just started dating… but I… I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“It’s okay if you weren’t ready for it,” Mingyu replied, “What matters is that you’re ready now.”

Mingyu paused. 

“Is… Is it okay if I grab your hands now?”

Minghao closed his eyes and focused on the memory. It was the only thing, only thought, that filled his head.

“Okay, you can do it,” Minghao said. 

Mingyu then held his hands, and the room around them disappeared. 

_ Minghao opened his eyes, and it was like he was reliving it all over again. It was his bedroom with his bed, desk, and nightstand. He saw a younger version of himself was sitting at his desk, doing homework when he heard his voice.  _

_ “Xiao Haohao?” _

_ Minghao watched the younger him look back at his window, hearing the delicate nickname. He saw Junhui sitting on the windowsill.  _

_ Minghao tried not to stare. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a white shirt, black jeans, and black Vans. His black hair rolled off of his forehead. His brown eyes stared at him as if Junhui was admiring him. _

_ Minghao remembered how Junhui made him feel. He could feel the familiar pound of his heart in his chest. Minghao stayed back and watched the scene unfold, watching the younger him smile. _

_ “Hey, come in.”  _

_ Junhui nodded before he stepped into Minghao’s bedroom. He closed the window behind him before walking to the desk, where Minghao was sitting in a spinning chair. He stood behind Minghao and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. He looked at the sheets of notes and homework that were spread out across the desk.  _

_ “You’ve been busy, haven’t you?” Junhui asked. _

_ “Yeah. My dad’s been having me do extra practice since, according to him, ‘I’m not shooting the gun correctly.’ So I’ve been falling behind, and because of that, I have late homework nights,” Minghao explained.  _

_ “I haven’t even started on my homework for Mrs. Ahn’s class,” Junhui said, “When am I ever going to need to understand math anyway? I’m a vampire; we don’t need to know that kind of thing.”  _

_ “Well, you never know. One day, you vampires might have to solve quadratic formulas,” Minghao teased, “Why bother going to school when you don’t need to go anyway?”  _

_ “Well, I need to do something with my spare time. What better thing to do than to pretend to be a high school student and watch how you humans go about your day?” Junhui asked.  _

_ “I guess you have a point,” Minghao replied, “Now be quiet. I have to finish this.”  _

_ Junhui chuckled. _

_ “You’re so diligent about your homework, your responsibilities, what you think needs to be done in your life,” Junhui replied, “that’s one of the many things I love about you, Haohao.” _

_ Minghao froze. He put down his pencil before he looked back at Junhui.  _

_ “What did you say?”  _

_ Junhui gave Minghao a small smile.  _

_ “This shouldn’t be a surprise, Minghao,” Junhui replied, “I thought I was being obvious.”  _

_ “You… You love me?” Minghao asked, shocked.  _

_ “Of course I love you,” Junhui replied, “When I first saw you, I knew you were different than the rest of those high school humans I saw. When I befriended you, I knew I did the right choice by doing so. I didn’t want to lose you, and honestly, I thought I was when I told you I was a vampire. I can’t deny the shock in your eyes when you first found out… but then… then you were so open and accepting to me and I just… I fell hard. Then we just kept spending time together and I just kept falling harder.” _

_ Minghao stayed silent, avoiding eye contact with Junhui.  _

_ “I… I’m sorry if this ruined our friendship. I just… I couldn’t contain it anymore. I’m sorry, Minghao,” Junhui finished.  _

_ Minghao thought for a moment. He looked up at Jun.  _

_ “Can I try something?”  _

_ “Sure.”  _

_ Without hesitation, Minghao leaned in and connected his lips with Junhui’s. Junhui would be lying if he said the shock didn’t hit him first. He only realized what was happening a moment before he kissed back. It was a simple and sweet kiss, a kiss that tested the waters.  _

_ Minghao quickly pulled away. His eyes widened before he looked up at Junhui again. _

_ “I… I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized.   _

_ “Sorry for what, Hao?” Junhui asked.  _

_ “I… I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m feeling. I don’t know if I should do this and if I shouldn’t, but I think it feels right, and I think I want more of it, but I’m also not sure because this has never happened to me before, and I just… I… I don’t know,” Minghao rushed out before he covered his face in embarrassment, “I’m sorry, Junhui.” _

_ Junhui gently took Minghao’s hands off of his face and held them in his.  _

_ “Hey, it’s okay,” Junhui gently replied, “People don’t always fully understand it on the first try. Sometimes, it takes more than the first try to figure it out. It’s supposed to be awkward and messy; it’s not supposed to be perfect, but we’re supposed to figure out how it’s going to be perfect in a way that’s perfect for us.” _

_ Junhui tilted Minghao’s head; he shyly smiled. _

_ “Would you like to figure it out with me?” _

_ Minghao thought for a moment before he smiled and nodded. Junhui then leaned in and pressed their lips together once again.  _

_ Minghao couldn’t even deny the fact he was scared. He had seen enough romantic movies to know what was supposed to happen. The first kiss was supposed to be perfect and exploding fireworks. He was supposed to know how to kiss before the other was supposed to ask him to be their boyfriend. _

_ He wasn’t supposed to go into the kiss, unknowing what to do. He wasn’t sure if what he was doing was right. Hell, it was his first kiss, and all he wanted to pull away in fear he would mess everything up, but he didn’t, because Junhui took care of him. Junhui held his cheek and guided him through it and kissed him like everything was going to be okay. _

_ The feeling of being with Junhui felt more right in Minghao’s core the more Minghao kissed Junhui. He knew that he liked it and that he only wanted more of it.  _

_ Junhui pulled away.  _

_ “Can I lay you on your bed?”  _

_ Minghao nodded, willing to leave his homework. Junhui then gently picked Minghao up from his chair and laid him on the bed. Junhui climbed on top of him before he kissed him again, this time, deeper and more passionately than before, giving Minghao his all. Minghao did the same, holding Junhui’s cheeks and leaning in more, almost desperate to taste more of Jun. _

_ The two had slowly taken their clothes off throughout the night and had become one. Minghao was scared of it being messy and awkward, but Junhui calmed him down and guided him. Because of that, Minghao knew it felt right, so he let it keep going.  _

Minghao felt Mingyu pull away. He opened his eyes and saw the confusion in Mingyu’s eyes, like he was trying to process what he saw.

“You… and him…. you…” 

“Yeah.” 

“And you both…” 

“Yeah.” 

“Oh... wow,” Mingyu said, "You... You must have really loved Junhui."

Minghao nodded.

“After that night, we agreed to figure things out, together, just like Junhui said we would. To our dismay, it… it didn’t work out. The next day, Junhui was killed, and since then, I’ve been scared to say that dreaded word.” 

Minghao paused. 

“Junhui made me feel alive, made me feel free, made me feel as if I could accomplish anything. I loved the feeling that flowed through my body whenever I was with him; I was, dare I say, addicted to it. I was young, barely the age of seventeen, but I knew that I always wanted to be around Junhui; I always wanted his touch and his kisses; I just… I always wanted  _ him _ . But then… I lost him, and I was reminded of how fragile of a thing Junhui and I had, and how scared I am of having it again.”

“Scared? Scared of what?” Mingyu asked.

“I… I’m scared of how fragile it is, how easily it can be formed and created, and how it could be taken away just as easily,” Minghao replied, “now that I have you, Mingyu, I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.” 

Minghao took a deep breath.

“Mingyu, you make me feel a feeling I can’t even describe. I… I feel warm and fuzzy on the inside when you made dumb jokes or whenever you feed me your leftover food just to make sure I’ve eaten. You made me laugh, smile and hug me whenever I’m shaken by fights with my father and always tell me everything will be okay. You support me and hold me in your arms when I feel like my world is ending and you still hold me until I feel okay again. You take care of me and protect me, and I can’t even deny the fact that I don’t want all of it forever.”

“So… So-”

“I love you, Mingyu,” Minghao interrupted, “I love you so much, and it terrifies me. It’s so precious and sweet… but I hate to think that I can lose it all, and I don’t want to. I’m so scared to lose you, lose all of this.” 

“That’s a risk we have to take,” Mingyu replied, “I know there’s a chance that I could lose you sooner than I want to… but that’s a chance I want to take if it means I can have you until then.”

“How can you be so positive?” Minghao asked. 

“Because you made me that way.”

Mingyu held Minghao’s hands in his. 

“I love you, Minghao,” Mingyu said, “I know you’re terrified because I am too. Knowing how our situation is, we really can’t see how anything will go, but I want to go through it with you. I want to stumble through it with you.” 

Minghao gave Mingyu a loving look before he smiled. 

“I would stumble through anything with you.” 

Mingyu smiled.

“Can I kiss you?” 

Minghao slightly frowned.

“I um… I have morning breath.”

“I want to kiss my beautiful boyfriend, so morning breath be damned.”

Minghao let out a small giggle. 

“Okay then, yeah.”

Mingyu then leaned in and pressed his lips against Minghao’s lips. Minghao accepted his lips and put his hand on Mingyu’s cheek before he kissed back, wanting to taste the sweet lips of the man that he loved so very much. It was a simple kiss, but Minghao could feel the emotion of Mingyu; he could feel how much Mingyu loved him and how much he meant to him. 

It was a feeling that had driven Minghao to get through his days. If Minghao had to go through every bad day and have every bad argument with his dad, then so be it, because Mingyu was worth it. He was worth it at the end of the day. It was longing, loving feeling he didn’t want to go away. 

Minghao pulled away. 

“Mingyu… Mingyu, I love you,” Minghao breathlessly said. 

“I love you too, Minghao,” Mingyu replied. 

“Please… Please don’t leave me, ever,” Minghao said. 

“I won’t, ever. I promise,” Mingyu replied.

Minghao nodded. Mingyu kissed Minghao’s forehead to seal the promise. 

“Your breakfast is getting cold,” Mingyu said, “Would you like to eat?” 

“Yes,” Minghao replied, “A cold breakfast is worth it if it means I get to be with you and kiss you.”

Mingyu fondly smiled before he grabbed the tray and placed it on Minghao’s lap. Minghao grabbed his fork and knife before he started to eat. 


	22. Chapter 22

The rest of their time together was spent well. 

Minghao ate the breakfast Mingyu cooked for him while Mingyu left forehead kisses on his skin. Minghao scolded him, telling him he needed to eat if he was going to be ready to deal with his father and his classes, but Mingyu ignored him and continued to kiss him, which Minghao loved anyway. 

Once Minghao finished his breakfast, Mingyu took the tray and put it on his nightstand. Minghao then threw the blanket off of him before he stood up and walked to his drawer of clothes. He grabbed a blue and white striped shirt and jeans before walking to the bathroom. 

Once he had changed and gotten ready for the day, he walked out of the bathroom and towards the edge of the bed. He put on his shoes. 

“You have class today, correct?” Mingyu asked. 

“Yeah. It starts at noon, so I’ll be done at two, maybe a little bit before then, but I think my dad is going to rope me into something, so I’m not sure if i’ll be able to see you today,” Minghao replied. 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to have time to see you either. Seungcheol is letting Chan, one of our new vampires, out for the first time since he’s turned, so he wants me to show him around and help him control his hunger, since the temptation will be bigger with the new smells,” Mingyu then said.

Minghao then turned around and walked towards. He wrapped his arms around Mingyu’s neck as Mingyu wrapped his arms around Minghao’s waist. 

“Well… I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah, for sure,” Mingyu replied. 

Minghao smiled before he leaned in for a small kiss. He pulled away and started to walk towards the window on his own. Mingyu, however, continued to hold his hand as they both walked to the window. Minghao let go of Mingyu’s hand to open the window. 

Once it was open, Minghao took another look at Mingyu. 

“I love you,” Minghao said. 

“I love you too,” Mingyu replied. 

Mingyu leaned in and kissed Minghao’s forehead. Minghao blushed before he proceeded to climb out the window. Minghao closed the window before he walked home.

Before he headed back home, he went to the woods to grab his gun, which he left the night before. To his surprise, he couldn't find it anywhere. He looked everywhere for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Minghao sighed before he walked away and the woods and towards his home. Minghao knew his father would be furious, since it was the gun that his father had passed down to him, but at this point, Minghao didn't care. He walked out of the woods and towards his home.

The path home was too familiar. He had walked home from Mingyu’s too many times, and he hated it. He hated leaving Mingyu. He felt more like home than his own home, even if he was surrounded by a bunch of creatures that hated him. But Mingyu made it worth it, so it didn't bother him.

He sighed when he saw his home start to appear. He walked to the back to where his bedroom window was. He climbed up the tree to see that his bedroom was surprisingly open. When he climbed inside, he saw why it was open. 

He saw his father sitting on his bed, as if he were waiting for Minghao to show up.

“F-Father,” Minghao greeted. 

“Hello, Minghao,” his father replied.

“What… What are you doing in here?” Minghao asked. 

“I was waiting for you,” his father replied, “Last night, you didn't make it back for the meeting, so I sent Hansol and Samuel back to look for you.”

His father held up his gun; Minghao’s eyes widened. 

_ So that’s where it went. _

“When they got there, they found your gun completely abandoned and you, nowhere to be found.” 

Minghao watched as his father put the gun on his bed and calmly stood up. Minghao knew better than to assume his father was calm. Under the surface, he was furious; Minghao knew it. 

“Minghao, I’d like you to be honest,  _ for once _ ,” his father started off, “where were you last night?” 

Minghao tried to think of a lie he could come up with this time, or maybe, he should listen to his father and actually be truthful for once.  

“I needed to get away,” Minghao said, “When I was practicing yesterday, I couldn’t get anything right. I was stressed, so I went to spend the night somewhere else. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you looking for me. I needed a night to myself.”

His father furrowed his eyebrows.

“Why would you need time to yourself? You have an entire community of hunters to lean onto. You don’t need to be alone.”

“Well, father, this doesn’t feel like a community to me.” 

“Why?” 

“I never wanted to be a hunter in the first place. Because of that, I’ve never really fit in the rest of the hunters, besides Soonyoung. The other hunters… they’re kind to me out of respect. It feels very… forced,” Minghao replied, “I can’t have a community because you forced me into this community. You forced me into this life against my will.”

His father narrowed his eyes. 

“You should be thanking me,” he started, “If not for me, you would be lying dead on the street.”

“And how do you know that?” Minghao asked, “a vampire would’ve killed me, right? Because they’re all blood-sucking monsters, right?”

“Where are you going with this, Minghao?” His father asked. 

“They’re not all like that, father,” Minghao replied, “There are some good vampires out there. There are some vampires out there that actually care about humans. They all don’t look at us like food.” 

“And you know that because of Junhui, right?” His father asked, “Junhui was a good vampire, wasn’t he?”

“He was! You never knew who he was; you assumed he was like every other vampire, just like you always do,” Minghao said. 

“You’re only claiming these preposterous things because you had sex with him, didn’t you?” His dad said. 

Minghao’s eyes widened. His breathing became uneven as he avoided eye contact with his father. He had only told Mingyu… how did his father know?

“How do you know about that?” Minghao asked.

“I knew a lot of things about you and Junhui,” his father replied, “You were just never aware of it. Once I was aware of it… I did what I had to do.”

“You… You only believed what you did was right,” Minghao said. 

“I did it because I knew it was right. Junhui was still a vampire under the layer you thought you knew,” his father said in defense, “I know what’s right for you, and that’s why I do what I do.” 

“You don’t know anything about me. You stopped caring about me or trying to know me since mom died and since you killed Junhui,” Minghao replied, “I’m not a kid anymore, father; I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions and do my own thing without you forcing any of your crazy ideals onto me, and because of that, I’m not listening to you anymore.”

His father’s eyes widened. They then narrowed again as fury filled them. 

“You’re slacking on your responsibilities, sneaking around without telling anyone, and making your own crazy ideals… you’re making a bad track record for yourself, and because of that, you’re staying out of any hunter business until you get yourself together,” his father told him, “Hopefully, this is just a phase and that you’re not actually thinking vampires are good and hooking up with them.”

“Fine. I don’t need to be anyway,” Minghao said. 

“Okay, if that’s what you want,” his father said. 

Minghao glared at his father as he turned around and walked out of his room, closing the door behind him. He was about to get his things together for class before he heard more footsteps in the hallway, more than usual.

Minghao then walked to his window and looked at the front yard. He saw that there were a group of hunters gathered on the grass. This was different from their normal routine of practice and patrol. He wondered what was happening so early in the morning. 

Minghao then noticed that one of them was Soonyoung. Minghao tried to get his attention, but before he could, Soonyoung and the other hunters grabbed their guns and wooden stakes before they ran off. 

Minghao watched them run until he couldn’t see them anymore. He wondered what was happening and almost contemplated asking, but he was sure his father had told everyone to shut him out until further notice, so he didn’t.

Minghao figured it probably wasn’t anything big. His father might be trying something new to add to their schedules for a future time. It’s how he always did things. 

He didn’t make a big deal of it and instead got his stuff together for his afternoon class. 


	23. Chapter 23

Seungcheol hated being strict. He really did. He liked to think that he was a cool, laid-back leader. He wanted to think that his coven could look at him as their leader but also as their friend. 

He couldn’t help but let the leader in him pop out when he was letting Chan out for the first since he had turned. 

Chan was caught at the wrong place at the wrong time his last night as a human. The first time Seungcheol saw him, he was a victim of a vampire that was outside of his clan. Chan was slumped against his body as the vampire fed from him. 

Of course, Seungcheol fought him off, but by then, it was already too late, because Chan was already dying. It didn’t take long for him to decide to turn him into a vampire. 

Chan looked so vulnerable and small when Seungcheol first saved him. He remembered how much Chan struggled the first few days of becoming a vampire. Chan refused to leave his room and refused to accept who he was. Regardless of his stubbornness, Seungcheol was with him for every step of the way before he was able to gain control of his new abilities and his hunger. Chan became more accepting of Seungcheol and everything else, so he allowed Seungcheol to help, which made the transition easier. 

Seungcheol had done the same thing for all of the other vampires, but Chan was different. Chan died and was turned at a younger age than many of the vampires. Chan was innocent and was still trying to understand the world. Seungcheol didn’t think it was fair for all of it to be ripped away and then force another reality onto him.     

Chan had grown so much since then. To Seungcheol, he seemed older, more mature, and more in control of himself. He couldn’t help but think that Chan was going out as a functioning vampire.

He knew Chan could handle it. He knew there were much more smells and that it was more tempting to expose themselves and feed, but Chan was strong. Chan stayed strong throughout the entire process and Seungcheol knew he would continue to stay strong once he was outside. 

“Remember to stay by his side, Mingyu,” Seungcheol commanded, “He’s still new so he’s still going to need guidance, especially around the edge of the hunters’ perimeter.”

“I know, Seungcheol,” Mingyu said with a sigh, “You’ve repeated that many times, even when I was first going out. I know how special Chan is to you, so I’ll be sure to watch over him and help him if his hunger gets too overwhelming to control.”

“I’ll be careful, Seungcheol,” Chan spoke up, “I promise. I’ll remember your words.”

Seungcheol then gave Chan a small smile. 

“Okay,” he said, “Have fun out there, but be careful, okay?” 

Chan nodded. Seungcheol then looked up to Mingyu. 

“Try to control your limbs for once, Mingyu. You don’t need to be clumsy right now,” Seungcheol told Mingyu. 

“You think I do that on purpose? I don’t,” Mingyu huffed. 

Chan giggled. 

“I’ll watch over him and myself.”

“Sounds good. Well, you two can go out now.”

The two waved goodbye before they ran off. Seungcheol watched them before he walked inside the house and closed the door. He saw Joshua standing in front of an opened refrigerator, grabbing a blood bag. He walked into the kitchen and stood behind him just as Joshua opened the blood bag, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his head on his shoulder. 

“Hey.” 

Joshua turned around. He smiled. 

“Hey,” Joshua replied, “I heard you sent Chan off with Mingyu. You sounded much more worried than you usually do, Cheol.” 

“You know why, Joshua,” Seungcheol said, “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

“You don’t,” Joshua replied, “You can, however, explain to me what we’re going to do for today, since you’re not going to be helping Chan today.” 

“How about we spend a day together, just you and me?” Seungcheol asked. 

Joshua smiled before he took a sip from his blood bag.” 

“I’d love to.” 

___

And that’s exactly what they did. They were in the room that they shared, laying in the bed under a blanket. Joshua was leaning his head against Seungcheol’s shoulder while the tv played some kind of movie. It wasn’t much, but it was simple, and that’s how they liked it. 

“Hey, Cheol?” Joshua asked. 

“Yeah?” Seungcheol asked. 

“Have you been noticing a difference in Mingyu’s appearance lately?” 

Seungcheol thought for a moment.

“What kind of difference, babe?” 

“Well… he just… he walks around with so much more happiness than usual. But with that, he seems more cautious. He’s sneaking around and being more secretive. It’s a bit odd, considering Mingyu isn’t like that.”

Seungcheol slightly frowned. 

“I… I suppose. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. We want our vampires to be like that, considering some of the vampires here were chosen to be a vampire against their will.”

“But we also don’t want them to be keeping secrets from us,” Joshua then pointed out, “Mingyu he… he just has some suspicious behavior.” 

“Mingyu told me that nothing much is up and that he’s just going about his day. I would like to think he’s finding little things in his days that make him smile. I wouldn’t think much about it,” Seungcheol said, “Maybe he found someone. It could explain his sudden happiness.”

“What if it were a-”

Before Joshua could finish his sentence, Seungcheol’s phone went off. Seungcheol held up a finger before he grabbed for his phone. He looked at the screen and saw Mingyu’s name show across the screen. 

He furrowed his eyebrows. Mingyu shouldn’t be and wouldn’t be calling… unless if it were an emergency. Seungcheol quickly picked up the phone and brought it up to his ear. 

“Mingyu?” Seungcheol greeted. 

“Seung… Seungcheol,” Mingyu said in a gasp. 

“Mingyu, what’s wrong?” 

“We… We were ambushed… by… by hunters.” 

“What happened? Where’s Chan? Is Chan okay? Let me talk to him.”

“Chan… he… he’s not here. I… I think… I think they… they took Chan.”

Seungcheol’s breath got caught in his throat. He nearly dropped his phone hearing that sentence come out of Mingyu’s mouth. He tried his best to contain himself before he gulped. 

“Mingyu… where are you?” 

“I… I don’t remember. They… They just… I think… I think-”

And just like that, the line went dead. Seungcheol pulled the phone away from his ear and saw that the call had ended. 

Seungcheol didn’t have time to waste. He quickly turned off the tv before he threw the blanket off. He stood up and started to walk towards the door. Joshua looked at him, confused. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“Mingyu and Chan,” Seungcheol said, “They were ambushed by hunters. Mingyu said that… they took Chan.” 

Joshua’s eyes widened before he threw the blanket off too and stood up as well. They walked out of their room.

“Do you know where they are?” Joshua asked. 

“No… but I’m sure Mingyu made them walk on paths that Wonwoo has to help us patrol to help Chan get used to the smells and tell him tricks to staying safe around the hunters,” Seungcheol replied. 

Joshua nodded before they walked down the hallway towards Wonwoo’s room. Once they reached his door, Seungcheol banged his fist against his door multiple times. 

“One second,” Seungcheol hear Wonwoo say. 

“It’s an emergency, Wonwoo,” Seungcheol replied. 

The door opened a second later to reveal Wonwoo in a white hoodie and jeans. His brown hair was laying flat on his forehead and his glass were worn over his brown eyes. 

“What’s the emergency?” Wonwoo asked. 

“Mingyu and Chan,” Seungcheol replied, “The hunters ambushed them; they got Chan. Mingyu is still out there, but I don’t know if the hunters are planning to take him too.” 

Wonwoo’s eyes widened. 

“What can I do to help?” 

“Pull out our paths you have planned to help us patrol,” Joshua said, “Seungcheol believes that Mingyu took them on the paths when he took Chan out.” 

Wonwoo quickly nodded. He opened his door wider and stepped out of the way, allowing Seungcheol and Joshua in. Wonwoo closed the door behind him before he walked over to his laptop. He closed the game he was playing (that made more sense to Seungcheol) and opened a folder. Wonwoo pressed on a file; it pulled up and showed a map of the area with different color-coded paths. 

Seungcheol looked over the paths. 

“How were they ambushed?” Wonwoo asked. 

“I’m… I’m not sure. I didn’t ask,” Seungcheol replied.

“What did Mingyu sound like when you were talking to him on the phone?” Joshua asked. 

“He… He sounded out of breath. He could barely talk. He was gasping for air, like breathing was hard for him. He sounded like he was in pain too,” Seungcheol explained. 

Joshua thought for a moment. 

“It’s odd for a vampire to fall that weak that quickly, especially with our quick healing and such,” Joshua said, “I… I think the hunters might have completed their new weapon.” 

“And… they used it on Mingyu and Chan, like an initial test,” Wonwoo added. 

“Testing it more on Chan, since they took him, to… to run trials and fix errors until… until the best they can make it,” Joshua finished.

Seungcheol felt his eyes flash red before he growled. 

There was no way in hell he’d let those hunters hurt anyone in his clan. 

“We need to get Mingyu and save Chan before they do any kind of testing on him.” 

Joshua nodded. 

“I’ll go get some blood bags ready just in case and some more supplies so we can test this new weapon. Wonwoo, help me with that,” Joshua said as Wonwoo nodded, “I’ll also go grab Seokmin to go with you.” 

Seungcheol then nodded. The three walked out before walking to their respective places. Joshua and Wonwoo walked towards his lab as Seungcheol walked towards the front door. When he got there, he saw Seokmin waiting there, pacing back and forth. Once he saw Seungcheol walk up, he looked at him with wide eyes. 

“Mingyu and Chan were attacked, and they took Chan?” Seokmin asked. 

“Yes,” Seungcheol replied, “Come with me. We need to go save Mingyu.” 

Seokmin nodded before the two ran out the door and started to follow the paths on Wonwoo’s map.  


	24. Chapter 24

_ Breathe, Mingyu, breathe.  _

Mingyu took deep breaths, trying to focus on his consciousness, trying to stay awake. He couldn’t let the hunters take him. He needed to save Chan. If the hunters took him before he could get help, who knows what would happen to him and Chan? 

He tried to put his remaining energy into his healing. He could feel his body trying to heal the wounds on his body. He could feel his skin trying to close the deep cuts on his body, but they only stung, slowing down the process and intensifying the pain for Mingyu.

_ Why aren’t I healing? Why does it hurt so much?  _

Mingyu saw the world started to blur and spin around him.

He needed to get out; he needed to find Chan. In a rush, he tried to get up, but a shock of pain hit him, making him wince and fall to the ground all over again. 

_ Breathe, Mingyu, breathe. _

“Mingyu?” 

Mingyu looked up when he heard his name. He saw two people running towards him. He tried to focus his sight and tried to figure out if they were hunters. 

His vision cleared, and he could see one had a head of black hair and the other had a head of brown. Both of them had dark red eyes. They were both focused on him.

Mingyu sighed in relief. 

_ Seungcheol and Seokmin. _

The two approached him. They kneeled over him, examining his body and checking his wounds before they leaned in to help him up.”

“We need to get you out of here before the hunters come back,” Seokmin said.

“We have to go find him! He’s in trouble! Those vampire hunters will kill him,” Mingyu argued.

“Mingyu, have you seen yourself? You’re in no condition to lead a rescue mission right now. You need to some time to heal first and we need to figure out what happened before we plan our next move,” Seungcheol said. 

Mingyu knew he was right, but he didn’t want to admit it. Hunters were ruthless (Minghao had told him) and wouldn’t hesitate to use Chan in whatever torturous way they planned to use him, so he knew that they had to save him as quick as possible. Mingyu, however, also knew that they couldn’t blindly walk in. Something about them seemed more inferior and stronger than before, so he knew that would get them killed. He couldn’t make anyone in the clan risk that.

Mingyu sighed then nodded. Seungcheol and Seokmin bent down and put Mingyu’s arms on their shoulders. Once they secured Mingyu, they helped bring him back to the house.  

Seungcheol pushed the door open. Seokmin and Seungcheol stumbled in and walked in towards Mingyu’s room. They walked into Mingyu’s room to see Joshua with a few new blood bags and some of his own supplies along with Wonwoo and his laptop

They laid Mingyu down on his bed. He saw Joshua start to inspect his legs.

“Two… two bullets in my leg, Shua,” Mingyu said. 

Joshua quickly nodded. He grabbed a pair of small medical tweezers. He started to reach into Mingyu’s leg. Mingyu screamed as Joshua reach for the bullets. He quickly pulled out one and placed it in a small metal bowl before reaching in for the other one. 

Even as a vampire, Mingyu didn’t do well with medical work. He nearly passed out when he felt Joshua pull out the second bullet. 

Mingyu’s vision cleared a bit; he watched Joshua quickly opened a blood bag and shoved it into his hands. 

“Drink,” he heard (a fuzzy version of) Joshua’s voice say. 

Mingyu nodded. He sat up on his bed and brought the bag up to his lips. His eyes turned red as he started to drink. As he drank, he could feel his wounds heal that they should’ve before. His strength, his enhanced abilities, were climbing back to their full potential. 

Mingyu pulled the blood bag away to see that it was completely drained. He threw it to the floor as he sighed in relief. 

“Thanks,” Mingyu said.

“Let’s get straight to the point,” Seungcheol said, “What happened?” 

Mingyu took a deep breath.

“Grab my hands and you’ll see.” 

Seungcheol raised an eyebrow. He looked back at Seokmin, Joshua, and Wonwoo. They all nodded before they gathered around Mingyu. Mingyu focused on the event before he gave the okay. They held his hands and let the memory take over. 

_ “I know you want to spring in and explore the woods for yourself, but that’s not a smart idea. You want to observe first before you walk in. You have to see and hear what’s around you before you blindly walk in,” Mingyu said, “We may be vampires, but we also have our weaknesses, especially against those hunters. We want to be careful around them.”  _

_ “I get it, Mingyu. Seungcheol’s repeated that to me many times,” Chan said.  _

_ “I’m just making sure,” Mingyu said, “Seungcheol would kill me if anything happened to you.” _

_ “It’ll be okay. I’ll be careful,” Chan said with a smile.  _

_ Mingyu smiled back, but the moment ended all too soon. Suddenly, Chan yelped in pain. He fell to the ground as he hissed. Mingyu gasped before he bent down.  _

_ “Chan? What happened?” Mingyu asked.  _

_ “Something hit me,” Chan replied before he gasped in pain.  _

_ Mingyu suddenly felt pain shoot through his leg. He gasped before he felt it again. He fell to the ground as he winced. Mingyu knew it was wooden bullets; it had to be.  _

_ Mingyu reached down to try to pull the bullets out, but then he heard something explode. He looked around and saw a green fog surround him and Chan. He tried to pull out the bullets again, but his limbs suddenly constricted. It became harder to breathe. The vampire healing that started to heal his wounds strangely slowed down.  _

_ He looked over at Chan to see that he was struggling to breathe and control himself. He looked over at Mingyu, who saw his eyes flash between red and brown. _

_ “Min… Mingyu…? What’s happening? He asked in a gasp.  _

_ Before Mingyu could answer, a voice spoke up.  _

_ “Well well well, look at what we have here.”  _

_ Mingyu looked up. He saw an older man with black hair that was styled up. His dark brown eyes were looking down at him. They had a resemblance he couldn’t clearly say or recognize. _

_ “Who… Who are you?” Mingyu asked.  _

_ “Why… I’m the leader of the vampire hunters in Seoul,” he replied, “I live and breathe to hunt down and kill the disgusting creatures like you.” _

_ “I… I swear-” _

_ “Swear what? You have nothing to swear. You’re weak on the ground in front of me. You can’t be talking, monster,” he replied, “I really don’t understand why my son would even think there’s any good in a creature like you. You prey on us to survive. There’s nothing good about that.”  _

_ He looked at Chan. He smirked before he looked at Mingyu before turning to the boys standing behind him. _

_ “Take this one back home,” he said, motioning to Chan. _

_ Mingyu’s eyes widened. He tried to get up but the man kicked him back down. He looked up, his eyes turning red. _

_ “D-Don’t take him. T-Take me, j-just leave h-him alone,” Mingyu gasped.  _

_ He scoffed.  _

_ “As if I have reasons to listen to you,” he replied, “There’s not a chance in the world I will listen to a monster like you.” _

_ The man looked down at him. Mingyu couldn’t stand the intensity of his stare, so he looked away. He grabbed at Mingyu’s hair. _

_ “I don’t think I want to kill you, not yet. I have… more uses for you.”  _

_ The man turned to Chan.  _

_ “Give him a dose of the vervain and start taking him back.” _

_ He pushed Mingyu to the ground again. Mingyu tried to get up again, but his limbs restricted him once again, and Mingyu could only watch as one of the hunters pulled out a syringe. Chan looked at him with fear in his eyes before the hunter leaned in. Chan gasped as the hunter inserted the needle into his back.  _

_ Chan slumped against the floor. Mingyu helplessly watched as a few more hunters gathered around him and picked him up.  _

_ The man turned back. _

_ “See you later, monster.”  _

_ And with that, the man and the hunters walked away with Chan in their grasp, and all Mingyu could do was watch. _

Mingyu felt reality come back. He opened his eyes and saw them with unreadable expressions. He could only read Seungcheol, who seemed furious. 

“We need to get Chan out of there,” Seungcheol said, “There’s no telling what they’re going to do to him.” 

“Does anyone have a plan?” Seokmin asked, “Wonwoo?”

Wonwoo, who was sitting back with his computer, sighed. 

“Not really no. The hunters… if they have this new weapon, they could be set up across the entire perimeter of the woods and their house. There’s no telling if we’ll even be able to get to the house since I don’t have an update on where their traps are.”

“How about another path?” Seungcheol asked. 

“I don’t think that would make a difference. My plans aren’t updated,” Wonwoo replied.

As the continued to discuss, Mingyu started to think. The substance they used on him and Chan seemed relatively new, as if they were testing it. There’s no way they could have them set up; He and Chan would’ve walked into one if they were.

There was no doubt that the setup of traps would be worse the closer they got to the house. Mingyu wouldn’t know their placement, but he knew one person that would: Minghao. Minghao could tell them about all the traps that were set up and warn them about any other surprises they should know that. Mingyu knew Minghao would help them; it was something he could count on. 

One thing he couldn’t count on was his clan trusting him and the possible plan he had. The humans had harmed them, killed people of their clan, so Mingyu could understand why the hunters wouldn’t want to work with a human. He also knew that it was their only shot and that Minghao was their only chance to save Chan.

“I… I have a plan,” Mingyu said.

They all looked at him. 

“It… It involves a human,” Mingyu said.” 

Before Mingyu could continue, Seungcheol interrupted him. 

“We don’t work with humans, after everything they’ve done to us. There’s no way of knowing we can trust them,” Seungcheol claimed. 

“It’s not a them, it’s a he,” Mingyu replied, “I know someone on the inside. He can tell us where the traps are. He can help us get to Chan when we’re inside and out.”   


“We can’t go along with that. It’s too risky,” Seungcheol replied, “We’re possibly putting Chan’s life on the line. Are you really willing to bet his life on this human you think will help us?”

“It’s not a bet because I know he’ll help us,” Mingyu insisted, “He’s one of the good ones.” 

“He can’t be good if he’s with the hunters,” Seungcheol replied, “That plan is too risky, and I’m not willing to risk Chan’s life on it. We need to think of another plan.” 

“But Seungcheol-”

“They killed Jeonghan, so don’t think I’m going to trust them anymore!” Seungcheol yelled, his eyes turned red and his fangs out.

Everyone looked at him, shocked. Mingyu looked away, not willing to bring up his plan anymore. Seungcheol let his eyes turn back to brown as his fangs hid again. He rubbed the templates of his head. 

“Okay,” Seungcheol, “Mingyu, stay here until you’ve completely healed. The rest of us will work with Wonwoo on a more reliable plan. Come on.” 

Seungcheol turned around and walked out. Joshua and Wonwoo were the first to follow him. Seokmin, however, stayed back and continued to sit on the edge of Mingyu’s bed. 

“Mingyu,” Seokmin started off, “Is this human… the one you’ve been sneaking around with?”

Mingyu hesitated. 

“Yes,” he replied, “I know he’ll help us. You just have to trust me.” 

Seokmin thought for a moment; he then sighed. 

“Fine, but only because I trust you,” Seokmin said, “Tomorrow. We’ll go as soon as you’re fully healed.”

Mingyu nodded. Seokmin walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving Mingyu to fully heal. 


	25. Chapter 25

Mingyu slipped on his shoes before he waited by the door. It didn't take long for him to heal after he fed again (thank goodness) so he and Seokmin agreed to get ready to go and sneak out. 

He pulled out his phone to send a text to Minghao. 

_ Gyu: Babe, are we good to go? _

It was a few moments before he felt his phone vibrate.

_ Haohao: Almost. They’re getting ready to leave. Wait a few minutes. _

Mingyu nodded. He had explained the whole situation to Minghao, and after he had explained it, Minghao was more than willing to help. Mingyu was happy to see him help, but he also knew what kind of situation this would put him in. 

In worry, he sent a text. 

_ Gyu: Hao, are you sure you want to do this? You know what’ll happen if they find out you helped us. _

The next text was almost impossibly fast. 

_ Haohao: My life is already hell. There’s nothing else they could do that would make my life worse than it already it. _

Mingyu sighed. 

_ Gyu: Okay. _

_ Haohao: They just left the house. You can come over now. I’ll be out there soon to meet you two.  _

_ Gyu: Okay. See you soon, love.  _

_ Haohao: ♡ _

Mingyu smiled then put his phone away as he heard footsteps. He looked up to see Seokmin walking towards him. He gave Mingyu a nervous smile before he started to put on his shoes.

Mingyu was thankful that Seokmin was putting his trust in him, but he could tell that Seokmin was still wary of their plan which was understandable. He knew the stories that Seungcheol told about Jeonghan, how it affected him, and all of the stories of what they had done to them. Mingyu understood why Seokmin had his doubts, but Mingyu knew Minghao. He knew Minghao was someone he trusted and was someone that could get them inside and out. 

Once Seokmin finished tying his laces, he stood up straight. 

“Ready?” Mingyu asked. 

Seokmin nodded. Mingyu then opened the door. The two stepped out. Mingyu closed the door behind him. The two ran out towards the home of the hunters. 

Once they reached the home, they stopped. They hid behind the bushes and watched the home. 

“Well, here it is,” Mingyu said. 

“Where’s your friend?” Seokmin asked. 

“Well… he’s more than just a friend,” Mingyu slyly replied. 

Seokmin furrowed his eyebrows. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

Before Mingyu could reply, he heard footsteps walking towards them. Mingyu looked ahead and saw Minghao walking towards them, looking ethereal, like he always did. His brown hair laid on his forehead. It matched his white hoodie and black jeans and red converses. His brown eyes looked tired. 

Mingyu softly smiled. 

“Hey, Hao.” 

Mingyu reached out and pulled Minghao into a quick hug. The two share a quick kiss before they pulled apart. Mingyu looked at Seokmin to see his eyes wide. 

“Oh, Seokmin, this is Minghao, my… my boyfriend,” Mingyu introduced, “Minghao, this is Seokmin, my closest friend in the clan.” 

Seokmin blinked multiple times. 

“I’ll explain it later.” 

Minghao then smiled and held his hand out. 

“Nice to meet you.” 

Seokmin hesitated; it was a moment before he reached his hand out and shook it with Minghao’s.

“Nice to meet you too.” 

They pulled their hands apart. 

“So… what’s the plan, Hao?” Mingyu asked. 

“You two need to follow me,” Minghao started, “There are traps where you wouldn't expect them to be, so you need to pay attention and stop when I tell you to stop. Otherwise, you’ll be hurt and the other hunters will know.” 

Mingyu and Seokmin nodded. Minghao then turned around and walked ahead before the two followed. 

Minghao walked with careful steps, making sure to look around before he walked. He waved to Mingyu and Seokmin. They followed Minghao up to the door. Minghao gently turned the door handle and pushed the door open. He looked around before he signaled for Mingyu and Seokmin to follow him. 

Mingyu took a quick look at the house. There was an open area in front of the doorway. One path led to the kitchen while the other led to a wide area with couches that were set around it. Minghao led them past that and down a darker hallway. He opened a door that revealed a set of stairs. 

“Creepy,” Mingyu commented. 

“We’re hunters,” Minghao replied, “it’s expected.” 

He walked down the steps. Mingyu and Seokmin walked down the steps after. The steps got darker and darker as they went further down. 

They reached the bottom of the stairs. 

Minghao revealed the open space; the two vampires gasped at the scene in front of them. 

Chan was laying down, unconscious, on a table. There was an iv needle inserted into his arm with an unfamiliar substance that was being pumped into his body. He was slowly breathing, wincing in pain as the liquid continued to move into his body. 

“We need to get him out of here,” Mingyu said. 

Seokmin nodded. The two walked over to Chan. They pulled the needle out of Chan and lifted him up. Seokmin put his arm around Chan to help support his weight. Mingyu started to do the same, but Seokmin stopped him. 

“I can handle him. Just… Just protect your boyfriend,” he said, “if the hunters catch us, they’re going to aim for Minghao first.” 

Mingyu blinked in surprise before he nodded. He held Minghao’s hand in his. Seokmin started to walk off with Chan. Mingyu started to follow, but before he could, Minghao stopped him. 

“I know Seokmin told you to protect me… but, remember your promise.” 

Mingyu thought back to all of those months ago, when he first confessed to Minghao, when Minghao made him promise to leave him if trouble caught up to them. Mingyu didn't intend to break it anytime soon. 

He nodded. 

“Of course, Hao.”

Minghao smiled, squeezing Mingyu’s hand before they followed. They took the same way back, avoiding the traps and anything that could attract the hunters. 

They reached the front door. They walked outside, making their way towards the woods. Seokmin continued to stumble with Chan while Minghao and Mingyu continued to hold hands and run. 

While walking down the walkway, Mingyu heard a small  _ snap _ . Minghao must have heard it too because he looked back. The two looked down and saw a snap tripwire. 

Before either of them could think, Mingyu felt someone sharp enter his back. He yelled in pain before he fell to his knees. Minghao yelped before he bent down to help him. 

“What… What is it?” Mingyu asked. 

“Wooden stakes, two of them,” Minghao replied, “I don't understand. These weren't here before.” 

“What… Whatever they are, they’re digging into my flesh and… and they’re burning me,” Mingyu said. 

“The stakes,” Minghao replied, “there has to be something on them.”

Minghao paused to think.

“Can you get up and walk? We need to get you to the woods before they see you here,” Minghao replied. 

Mingyu slowly nodded. Minghao put his arm around Mingyu’s shoulder and helped him stand up. Minghao stumbled along, helping Mingyu into the woods. Minghao’s shoulder started to hurt and his breathing became labored, but if it meant he was being Mingyu to safety, it was worth it. 

Once they had made it into a safe distance, Minghao helped Mingyu onto the ground. He looked over to see Seokmin and Chan, who was waking. He looked dazed and confused as to where he was, but Seokmin seemed to be calming him down. 

“This is going to hurt.” 

Mingyu nodded. He yelled in pain as he felt the first stake come out. He saw it fall on the ground next to him. He gasped in pain as he felt the second one come out as well. 

Mingyu could feel his healing starting to take place, but his body still burned. It had to be something on the stakes, like Minghao said. 

He then tuned his hearing; his eyes flashed between red and brown as he heard the footsteps and rustle of leaves. 

“You hear them, don't you?” Minghao asked. 

Mingyu nervously nodded. Seokmin must have heard them too because he lifted up Chan into his arms and turned back to look at Mingyu. 

“Mingyu can you walk? We need to get Chan back before they catch us.” 

“Y-Yeah.” 

Mingyu tried to get up, but the searing burn shot through his body, and he fell back down to the ground; Minghao quickly caught him and set him against a tree. Seokmin watched in worry, but Mingyu ignored it. 

“Seokmin, get a head start. Get Chan back safely,” Mingyu said. 

“But Mingyu, what about you?” Seokmin asked. 

“I’ll be fine,” Mingyu replied, “Just get Chan out of here before they find us.” 

“But Mingyu-”

_ “Go.”  _

Seokmin hesitated before he sighed. 

“You better make it back alive.” 

Mingyu quickly nodded.

“I’ll make sure he gets back,” Minghao said, “Just get a head start and go. The hunters will be here soon enough and they won't have mercy on any of you.” 

Seokmin nodded. He ran off with his vampire speed, leaving Mingyu and Minghao alone. Mingyu could hear the footsteps slowly increase. 

“Mingyu, you need to get out of here too,” Minghao said, “I can only protect you so much.” 

“Even if I wanted to, I can't. I can't run away, much less stand,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao thought a moment before he pulled his hoodie sleeve down. Mingyu’s eye widened, knowing exactly what he was thinking. 

“Minghao, no.” 

“Mingyu, you need new blood in your system if you’re going to heal and run.” 

“Minghao, you know I don't feed from the vein.” 

“You’re going to need to now. Like I said, the hunters will be here soon, and them seeing us together will not end well for us.” 

“Minghao-”

“Mingyu, please do this for me. I know what they'll do to you if you get caught, and I don't want to see you suffer because of them.”

Mingyu sighed, hearing the steps grow even louder. He let his fangs grow in and his eyes turn red. He took Minghao’s wrist in his hand. He took a deep breath before he leaned in and connected his fangs with Minghao’s wrist. He heard Minghao wince but keep his composure as Mingyu started to feed. 

Sweet blood filled his mouth, like the most delectable chocolate in the world. He craved it, was almost addicted to it, and latched on to his wrist to keep feeding. 

But the rational part of his brain told him to stop, and he did. He pulled away and licked the wounds to help them heal. He let go of Minghao’s wrist before he wiped his mouth. 

He could feel Minghao’s blood flow through his veins; his healing started to speed up. He stood up, strength flowing back to his body. Minghao stood up with him. 

“Thank you,” Mingyu said. 

“Anything for you,” Minghao said with a smile, “See you soon?” 

“Of course.” 

Mingyu leaned in, sharing a quick but loving kiss with Minghao. He pulled away before he ran off to hide. He watched to make sure Minghao was going to make it safely to his home. He saw that the path was safe.

And with that, Mingyu ran off to catch up with Seokmin and Chan. 


	26. Chapter 26

Mingyu sighed in relief when he saw their house appear in their eye view. Seokmin walked ahead, holding Chan, while Mingyu walked behind them and watched to make sure no hunters would sneak up on them and attack.

Once they reached the door, Mingyu turned the doorknob and pushed the door open; Seokmin rushed in. Mingyu took one last look before he walked in and closed the door behind him. 

They looked into the kitchen to see Seungcheol, Joshua, and Wonwoo sitting at the island in the kitchen. They were looking over the laptop and softly discussing something. They turned around when they heard footsteps. 

Their eyes widened.

“How… How?” Joshua asked. 

“We’ll explain later,” Seokmin replied, “Right now, Chan needs help. He didn’t look too well when we first found him.  

Joshua nodded. He jumped off of the stool and walked towards Seokmin. He did an initial check over Chan before he looked up. 

“Get him to his room. I’ll be able to treat him there,” Joshua told Seokmin. 

Seokmin nodded and started to walk towards Chan’s room as Joshua started to head to the refrigerator for a blood bag. He then started to walk towards his room for more supplies. Seungcheol and Wonwoo continued to look at Mingyu, surprised. 

“Mingyu… Mingyu…,” Wonwoo started to say. 

Before Wonwoo could finish his thought, Mingyu turned around and walked outside. He closed the door behind him and out to the side of the house. He jumped up, swiftly landing onto the roof. Mingyu walked to his usual spot before he sat down. He started to watch humans walk around and go about their days. Some smiled, laughed, and joked around. Others cried while others yelled. 

While sitting, he couldn’t stop the feeling of guilt running through his body. He couldn’t stop thinking Chan laying on the table, weak and frail. He looked helpless, and he was. He was a baby vampire who had just learned to control his hunger and abilities and was going out for the first time since he turned. 

Chan had always been good, and Mingyu couldn’t help but feel even more guilty knowing Chan was a victim in the hunters’ testing. He didn’t deserve to be. Chan only should’ve expected a calm look at the new look at the world as a vampire. Chan shouldn’t have been captured and shouldn’t have been used as a lab rat. 

Mingyu couldn't help but blame himself. He knew he should’ve been stronger, should’ve done more to help him and Chan escape. Instead, he let a hunter push him around and leave him weak on the floor while he took away the vampire he was responsible for. 

Wonwoo, Joshua, even Seokmin, would’ve been a better choice. He knew it.

“Mingyu?” 

Mingyu looked back to see Seungcheol walking towards him. 

Mingyu turned around.

“How is he?” He asked.

“He’ll be fine. Joshua got some new blood in his system. He just needs some time to rest until his vampire healing kicks in. Joshua’s also running some tests, so we’ll see what the hunters’ are up to now,” Seungcheol replied, “Can I sit?” 

Mingyu looked up to see Seungcheol standing over him. Mingyu nodded; Seungcheol then took the opportunity to sit down next to Mingyu.

“It’s my fault,” Mingyu said. 

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. It happens,” Seungcheol replied, “I  _ am _ curious though. How did you and Seokmin get Chan out? Wonwoo, Joshua, and I were working to find a way, and we couldn’t find a path that was either clear or didn’t put us at a great risk of being caught.”

Mingyu hesitated. He knew he would have to tell Seungcheol about him and Minghao now.

“I… I know someone on the inside,” Mingyu replied, “He’s one of the hunters. He knows about the traps, their placement, and everything else that we needed to know. He guided us in and out.”

“And how do you know this human? I haven’t had the sense that you’ve been sneaking someone in and out,” Seungcheol pointed out. 

“Well, I… I have been. We met a while ago. He was the hunter that saved me from the trap I got my foot caught in. Since then, we’ve been meeting up and talking. For the past six months… we’ve been dating.” 

Seungcheol’s eyes widened. 

“You’re dating a hunter?” 

“Y-Yeah,” Mingyu replied.

“So you’ve been with him all this time, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.”   


“Oh. Joshua suspected something, but I didn’t listen to him much. I trust you to not do anything extremely stupid, so I didn’t think much of it,” Seungcheol replied, “I guess I should’ve figured it out. You seem so much happier these days.”

“Yeah,” Minghao replied, “he makes me incredibly happy. It’s the happiest I’ve been since I turned.”

“That’s good to hear,” Seungcheol replied, “I’m kind of surprised to see you’ve trusted him so fast.”   


“Well, I got to know him over the months I’ve been seeing him, and I’ve grown to know that he’s one of the good ones. I’ve learn to trust him,” Mingyu replied. 

“You were always a really open and understanding person,” Seungcheol said, “I just wish I could be the same. I stopped believing they were capable of being good, or trustworthy, ever since Jeonghan.” 

Seungcheol stopped talking. Mingyu looked over and him and saw that he was visibly shakier. Seungcheol gulped before he spoke again.

“I should’ve done more to save him.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Seungcheol,” Mingyu replied, “You didn’t know. Plus, you guys were outnumbered. You can’t blame Jeonghan’s death on yourself when something like that happening.”

“I did know. There were warning signs. Jeonghan sensed something was wrong, and he kept telling me that he sensed something, but I completely ignored him. Now, I can’t forget the moments those hunters found us, how they weakened me, and how they took Jeonghan,” Seungcheol said, “I can’t forget that glimmer of hope that was in his eyes, and how it suddenly disappeared when they killed him. 

Seungcheol paused, trying to find the right words to say.

“I’m the reason why Jeonghan is dead.”  

“It’s not your fault. You did everything to try to save him. It’s the hunters’ fault,” Mingyu replied.

“It is my fault, and that’s something I have to live with,” Seungcheol said, “I can’t trust them. After what happened to Jeonghan, I swore I wouldn’t put anyone in danger like that again. Your boyfriend may have helped you rescue Chan, but there’s always more to a person than the actions they decide to show you. I can’t trust him, not yet. I just hope that you can trust him enough to not break you or the clan. You know what Jeonghan’s death did to me.” 

Mingyu thought back to that time. He remembered how Seungcheol crumbled, how he completely shattered as a leader and was unable to complete his duties. He remembered how Seungcheol never left his room and only cried and called out to Jeonghan and apologized to him over and over. He remembered a scary time in which Seungcheol lost his desire to feed. He started to slowly desiccate, and the rest of the clan had to hold him down and shove blood down his throat. It was a scary time for their clan and hoped a time like that didn’t happen anytime soon. 

Seungcheol sighed.

“A death like that will break you. It’ll take you a while to accept it and it’ll take you even longer to heal.”

Mingyu had never referred back to that part of his and Minghao’s relationship. Yes, he was immortal, and his love for Minghao was immortal, but at the end of the day, Minghao was still a fragile human with a dangerous love that could get him in huge trouble. He knew something could go wrong and that he could lose Minghao altogether. Would he be able to handle Minghao’s death? Would he spiral down as far as Seungcheol did?

Mingyu was crazy, he would admit that to himself, but loving Minghao made him that way. He would love Minghao to the end of his days. He would spend the here and now with Minghao, even if there was a chance he could lose him one day.

Mingyu took a deep breath.

“I love him, Seungcheol,” Mingyu said, “I’ve got to know him more than as a hunter, but as a person and as a boyfriend. I trust him with my life. I know there’s a chance I could lose him one day, but that’s a chance I’m willing to take if it means I get to have him now. You just have to trust me when I say that I know that he’s different. He’s not like the rest of them. He’s good, and kind, and decent.”

“Is he?” Seungcheol asked. 

“I swear he is.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Cheol?” 

The two looked back to see Joshua standing on the roof. 

“I have some test results, if you wanted to see them.” 

The two nodded. They followed Joshua down to the ground. They followed him inside, still seeing Wonwoo typing on his laptop at the island. Once the door was closed behind them, they walked towards Chan’s room.

Once they stepped into Chan’s room, he saw Chan sleeping on the bed. There was an empty blood bag beside him. Seokmin was sitting by his bed, watching over him. 

They closed the door before they stood around Chan. 

“For the most part, he’s okay. He just needed some new blood in his system. He’s just sleeping now to speed up the healing process,” Joshua reported, “I also tested him, and I found something rather interesting.” 

“Which is what?” Mingyu asked. 

“The substance I found in him,” Joshua said, “It seemed familiar, so I grabbed samples from when I tested Wonwoo and Mingyu. It turned out to be the same. Mingyu experienced the pain while Wonwoo experienced the memory loss. Chan, however, seemed to experience all three.”

“What?” Seokmin asked. 

“When I was helping him, he seemed to be in pain. When I asked what they did to him, he said he couldn’t remember. He only remembers being poked by needles and being injected with that substance. Compared to Wonwoo and Mingyu, it seemed to have an even bigger effect on him,” Joshua explained, “So either they injected Chan with enough of it to make him this way or they’re testing it and making it more powerful.” 

“Is there anything you can do to find out more?” Seungcheol asked. 

“I can try, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. I’ll try to find out what I can,” Joshua said, “Meanwhile, maybe patrol and see if you guys can find anything else that connects to this substance.”

“Of course,” Seungcheol said, “We’ll go out and look now.” 

“Okay,” Joshua said, “Bring anything back if you find anything. I’ll try to use it to help figure out what this is and how it makes us so weak.” 

Seungcheol, Mingyu, and Seokmin nodded. They all stood up and ran out. 


	27. Chapter 27

Minghao stopped at the front door, replaying the events that had happened earlier. 

He helped Mingyu and his friend save another vampire in their clan. Mingyu got hurt. He let Mingyu feed from him.

He knew the risks of helping them, but he did it anyway. He loved Mingyu, and because he loved Mingyu so much, he took risks.

Minghao closed his eyes and took a deep breath, preparing himself for what could come. He then opened his eyes. He put his hand around the doorknob, turned it, and pushed open the door. 

He walked inside and closed the door behind him. He watched as everyone was seemingly running around. Some were talking with each other; others were discussing plans. The rest were explaining, or trying to explain, and understand how the vampire they had captured had suddenly disappeared.

Minghao started to walk up to his room. When he went further down the hallway, he saw two figures leaning against the wall and talking to each other. Minghao recognized the slender figure as his father, but he couldn’t tell who the other one way. He quietly watched the two discussing something Minghao couldn’t make out. 

The floor creaked; the two looked over to him. Minghao’s eyes widened when he realized it was Soonyoung that was looking at him. 

He watched his father lean in to whisper something to Soonyoung. He nodded before walking past Minghao, not even making eye contact with him, before he walked downstairs. His father then walked to his room and opened the door. 

“Minghao, let’s talk.”

His father walked into the room; Minghao knew this was it, the moment he had been dreading. He wanted to run away, but he had spent many years living under his father and obeying his rules. Minghao knew that it was time to change that. 

He took another deep breath before he walked into his room. Once he was in his room, his father closed the door behind him.

“What did you want to talk about, father?” Minghao asked. 

“Well… if you haven’t noticed, everyone’s been running around, frantically, trying to fix plans and figure out the next solution. Do you know why that is?” His father asked.

I’ve noticed, but I’m… I’m not sure,” Minghao replied.

“Well, we got back from practice. We were getting ready to run more tests on the vampire we captured, but, when we got to the room, he wasn’t there. The vampire we’ve captured has suddenly disappeared. No one knows what happens to him, except for me, and someone else,” his father explained, “Coincidentally, you didn’t come out the practice with us, and when we got back, you and the vampire were gone.”

Minghao avoided eye contact with his father, trying to control himself as he felt his father’s glare on him. 

“You helped him escape, didn’t you?” 

Minghao stayed silent; that was a mistake on his part, because his dad slapped him. Minghao’s cheek turned numb; he was used to the pain already.

“Minghao, answer me.”

Minghao looked up and glared at his father.

“Fine, if you want to hear the answer so bad, then yes. I did. I helped two vampires save that vampire that was in their clan, there. Is that what you want to hear?”

His father’s eyes widened, anger quickly flooding to his eyes. 

“Do you even understand what you’ve done? We had the upper hand. We’ve figured out how to keep them under control and you let him go! Why?”   


“Because of you! Too many hunters and vampires have died at your hand, and I won’t let anyone else die because of you anymore!”   


“Really? Are you soft for them now?”

“I’ve just learned to understand that vampires can be good too. Sometimes, they're even better than hunters.” 

“Is that why you’re dating one now?”    


Minghao blinked multiple times. He tried to hold his composure. 

“W-What are you talking about?”    


His father smirked. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” his father replied, “Soonyoung left early to check on you and see if you were okay. He told me that, when he was walking to said he saw you and what looked to be like a vampire feeding from you. He saw you kiss him before he ran off and you walked away.” 

His father paused. 

“You  _ are _ dating that vampire, aren't you?”

There was a silence that sat between them. After a moment, Minghao spoke. 

“I am.” 

His father scoffed. 

“Disgusting, absolutely disgusting. I trained you and raised you to be better than to date a vampire, much less kiss one and willingly let them feed from you. You know that monsters like them only dating humans take advantage of them and use them as a snack.” 

Minghao felt his blood boil, the anger flowing through his body. No one could talk about Mingyu like that; he wouldn't allow it. 

“Don’t you dare say that about him,” Minghao said, “I could've dated a human, but instead, I’m dating a vampire because I can see them both as good. My boyfriend is good. He cares for everyone around him, and I fell for that. Being with him for the past couple of months have made me happier than I’ve been here in the past ten years. He’s better than any other human I could run into.”

His father stared at him before he looked away and laughed, almost mockingly. 

“Soonyoung has always been a good friend to you. It must be a shame for him to see that you betrayed his trust and the trust of the entire hunters’ group.” 

“I hid it because I knew what all of you would say. I just grew to understand that vampires can be good too. Some of them are even better than the people I know. Junhui was one of them. My boyfriend is another one. I’m sure there’s more.” 

His father scoffed.

“They killed your mother, Minghao. How can you forgive them so easily?” 

“You killed her, father,” Minghao replied, “You’re the one that led us there. You bartered with a vampire and put her life on the line. You watched as that vampire snapped her neck. You let her die!”

Minghao hadn't realized how heavy his breathing had become until he stopped talking. Tears threatened to escape his eyes, but he held them back. 

He calmed down his breathing before he could speak again.

“Sometimes, the monsters aren't the vampires, but the ones that claim to be the good guys.” 

He paused, trying to gather his courage and thoughts. 

“I can't live like that anymore. I can't live doing this anymore. It’s not right to my boyfriend and to what I believe in, and because of that, I’m done taking orders from you and done living the way you’ve forced me to live. I’m not taking over your position; I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.”

His father scoffed. 

“Fine, see if I care,” his father replied, “You said it yourself. I don’t control you anymore, so do what you want. But, when you’re laying on the street, bleeding and dying because your boyfriend used you and abandoned you, don’t even bother asking me to save you, because I won’t.”

His father shoved Minghao away before he walked towards the door of Minghao’s bedroom. He slammed it behind him. Minghao sighed in relief before he grabbed his duffel bag and started to gather his things. 

Minghao had started to fold his clothes when he heard a knock at his door. 

“Come in,” Minghao called out. 

The door to his room opened. Minghao looked back to see Soonyoung standing in the doorway. 

“Oh, hey,” Minghao said.

Soonyoung remained silent, avoiding eye contact with Minghao. He walked in, closed the door behind him, and sat down on Minghao’s spinning chair. 

“Leader Xu… he said you’re... leaving?” Soonyoung softly asked.

Minghao sighed.

“Yes,” he replied.     


“Why?”   


“My life has been a living hell for the past ten years. All I’ve done is let my father control me, force his beliefs onto me, and turn me into this… this thing. I can’t deal with it anymore. I’m not dealing with his bullshit anymore. It’s time I move on.”

“Oh,” Soonyoung replied, “Minghao-”

“Why did you tell my dad all of that?” Minghao interrupted.

Soonyoung visibly froze; he answered.

“All of what?” 

“Everything,” Minghao said in frustration, “About me helping that vampire escape, about letting my boyfriend feed off of me, and how we kissed.” 

“Well, why did you help the other vampires help him escape?” Soonyoung then asked.   


Minghao paused.

“Under that vampire layer... was just a kid. I couldn’t let him die.”   


“And I told your dad because he’s a vampire that’s part of a clan that’s killed people we’ve known and loved. You’ve could’ve been next,” Soonyoung replied.   


“Well… maybe I should be. Maybe it’ll even up the score for all of the vampires I’ve killed for the past ten years.”

“Really? You’re saying that, especially now? They killed your mom, Minghao, and not a moment later, they killed my dad for trying to intervene. Don’t you want to avenge your mom?”

“No,” Minghao sternly said, “Don’t you dare use my mom to justify any of your reasons or any of this! Killing is killing, regardless of who we are.”

“All I’m trying to do is avenge my father and make things right? It sucks sometimes; I understand that, but I can’t help but remember the look on my dad’s face when they killed him,” Soonyoung replied, “he didn’t deserve to die; I want to avenge that. They killed your mom because your dad provoked them. She didn’t deserve to die either. Don’t you want to avenge our parents and make things right?” 

Minghao sighs.

“If it has to deal with hurting and killing my boyfriend’s kind, then I won’t. It’s not right to him or to my mom, who only wanted peace,” Minghao replied, “Now I’d like you to leave.”

“Minghao-”

Minghao put the shirt he was folding back on the bed, sighing in frustration. 

“Soonyoung, please.”

Soonyoung started to speak up but stopped himself. 

“Fine,” he said, “I won’t stop you from what you believe in or what you want to do. I just hope that… whatever you do, whether you finish your schooling or live your life with Mingyu, you’re content and living a life you feel is better for you.”

“Yeah, I will,” Minghao simply replied. 

Soonyoung replied. 

“I have to go anyway. Your dad is holding another meeting.”

Minghao stayed silent as Soonyoung walked out, leaving the door open. 

_ Meeting? A meeting about what? What could they possibly be meeting about? They couldn’t possibly be meeting since one of their biggest projects had been ruined… unless that was part of a bigger plan. _

They had recently been testing on that vampire. Maybe they had been testing its effects and what it was really capable of. 

Minghao almost gasped, realizing that weapon could be used on Mingyu.  

Minghao stopped his packing. He had to figure out what it could be and how they were planning to use it against the vampires.

Without hesitation, he walked out of his room and headed towards the meeting room. 


	28. Chapter 28

Minghao crept to the bottom of the stairs. To no surprise at all, he heard his father talking and starting off the meeting. 

He quietly sat down at the bottom of the stairs, where the wall hiding his stopped. He sat with his knees curled up against his chest. 

He listened. 

“Leader Xu, what are we going to do about the vampire that escaped? We weren’t really done testing yet,” Hansol asked. 

“Well, there’s much more we could’ve learned about our new weapon if he hadn’t escaped. We do, however, have enough information to go off of for our next step,” Leader Xu replied.

“How much do we know, exactly?” Another hunter asked. 

“A great amount,” Leader Xu replied, “There were effects on the vampires that had expected results.”

Such as?” 

“Healing is one of them. It slows down their healing, making them more vulnerable to our other weapons. Dizziness is another one. It ruins their senses and doesn’t make them as elusive as their abilities allow them to be. Depending on the vampire, it blocks out the memory of what they see after they’ve been affected. Overall, it makes them weaker.”

“And we needed that for the next part of the plan, correct?” Another hunter asked. 

“Right. We know what it can do, and after running tests on the vampire, which were successful, we know it’ll have those effects on the others,” Leader Xu replied, “After preparing more of the vervain and preparing more weapons, we’ll be able to storm.”

“In how long?” Soonyoung asked. 

“In a week. By next week, we’ll be able to keep the vampires will be  _ under _ control, out of sight, and out of mind,” Leader Xu said with a smirk.

Minghao’s eyes widened as he softly gasped; he quickly covered his mouth. He had heard enough, enough that he couldn’t handle it anymore, and enough that he could tell it to Mingyu to warn their coven. 

He quietly stood up and skipped up the stairs. He slipped into his room and closed the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and went to Mingyu’s contact name. 

He saw Mingyu’s name on his phone along with a picture of him and Mingyu. It made him smile for a moment, seeing that it was a picture of them of their first time at the sunflower field. Thinking of it made him smile.

The memory went away when he heard Mingyu’s voice through his phone. 

“Hello?” 

“Mingyu?

“Hao?” Mingyu asked, “Hao, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” 

“Gyu… Gyu… it’s… it’s my dad,” Minghao replied.

“What about your dad?” 

“He… He… He’s planning something,” Minghao explained, “the vampire I helped you save, the vervain, he… he wants to hurt you.”

“What? Minghao, explain it more. You’re not making any sense; it’s scaring me,” Mingyu said. 

“Just… Gyu, I’m coming over,” Minghao, “I need to explain it to you in person.”

“Okay,” Mingyu said, “Come through my window.”

Minghao then hung up. He slipped his phone into his pocket. He walked towards his window and pulled it open. He climbed out and closed it behind him. He started to run in the direction of Mingyu’s coven home.  

Once he reached Mingyu’s home, he ran to the side with his window. Mingyu opened the window and helped him inside. Mingyu closed the window, and not even a second later, Minghao pulled Mingyu into a hug. Mingyu was surprised, to say the least, but he hugged back.

Minghao’s hug grew tighter around Mingyu, as if he would disappear. His breathing became shaky.

“Hao, it’s okay,” Mingyu said, “You’ll be okay.” 

“No, it’s not okay. You’re going to get hurt. You might even be killed,” Minghao said. 

“Why? What’s happening?” 

Minghao pulled away from the hug. He took a deep breath. 

“My dad and the hunters,” Minghao started off, “They did test more on that vampire I helped you and Seokmin save and confirmed all of its effects on vampires. They want to come here and use it on all of you.” 

“Are… Are they going to kill us?” Mingyu asked.

“It’s… It’s very likely. My dad… he said he wanted to use it to… to keep you vampires ‘under control,’” Minghao replied. 

Mingyu’s eyes flashed from red before turning brown. Worry made its way to his face. 

“We have to tell Seungcheol,” Mingyu said. 

“What? No! I told you so you can tell him!” Minghao said. 

“He’ll only ask how I know, and I’d have to bring you up,” Mingyu replied, “Babe, you have to tell him.” 

“I-I can’t! What if he doesn't believe me? What if he calls me a liar and kills me? I-I can't… w-what if-” 

Mingyu interrupted him by connecting their lips. Minghao kissed back, tasting Mingyu before he suddenly pulled away. 

“I believe you. I’ll be there with you the whole time. He has to know that there’s this threat against his clan. If he doesn't, more of us will die. And, this is what I think, but I think it’ll help him trust humans again if he hears it from you,” Mingyu said, “If Seungcheol wants to hurt a hair on your head, he'll have to go through me.” 

Mingyu paused.

“I promise I won't let him hurt you.” 

Minghao thought for a moment. He nervously bit his lip before he nodded. 

“Okay.”

Mingyu then reached his hand out. Minghao took it and tightly held it. Mingyu led them to the door. He opened it and led them through the hallway. Minghao looked around and looked at the mansion around him. The walls were cream and brightly lit. Doors lined the hallway. 

Mingyu walked them down the stairs and towards a darker hallway. He stopped them when he got to the last door on the right. 

“What room is this?” Minghao asked.

“Strategy room. It’s where Seungcheol likes to spend his days,” Mingyu replied, “You ready?” 

Minghao nodded. 

Mingyu then squeezed Minghao’s hand before he knocked on the door. 

“One second,” a voice called out. 

Just then, the door cracked open. Minghao saw someone with brown hair that fell over his forehead. He had cat-like eyes and a sly smile. 

His eyes turned red as his fangs grew in. 

“I smell human blood,” he said, “Mingyu, why did you bring a human in here?” 

“Joshua, we need to speak to Seungcheol, please,” Mingyu replied, “It’s about the safety of the clan.” 

Joshua’s fangs hid themselves as his eyes turned brown once again. He opened the door wider for the two

“Come in.”

Mingyu nodded before he led him and Minghao in. Joshua closed the door behind them. 

Minghao looked around the room. There were no windows and it was darker. There were bookshelves that lined the room and a table in the middle of it. There were bigger, more comfortable and cushioned chairs that were on one of the walls of the room, chairs that were fit for a king.  

Minghao froze when he saw the vampire sitting in the chair. His hair was black and was styled up. He wore a blazer over a white t-shirt paired with black jeans and white converses.

He knew that vampire. 

Joshua walked up to the vampire and sat down in the chair next to his.

“Seungcheol?”  

“Yes, Joshua?” Seungcheol replied.

“Mingyu… he said he’d like to speak with you,” Joshua said, “He has a human with him.” 

Seungcheol froze before he looked up at Mingyu. His eyes then turned to Minghao; he almost growled as his eyes turned red and his fangs exposed themselves. 

Mingyu raised an eyebrow.

“Seungcheol… this… this is the human I’ve been seeing. His name is Minghao,” Mingyu introduced, “Minghao, this is Seungcheol, my coven leader.” 

“Oh, I know you,” Seungcheol sneered.

“H-Hello, again,” Minghao said with a small bow.

Mingyu looked between the two.

“You two know each other?”

Seungcheol distastefully laughed. 

“Do we know each other? Yes, we do. He’s the hunter that stood by and watched while the leader of his group of hunters killed Jeonghan.” 

Mingyu’s eyes widened before he looked to Minghao. Minghao motioned to Seungcheol, telling him that they had bigger things to worry about. Mingyu held Minghao’s hand, comforting him.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here,  _ Minghao _ , after you did what you did back there, after you let  _ him _ kill Jeonghan,” Seungcheol said, “You better have a damn good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”

Seungcheol started to stand up, but Mingyu protectively stood in front of Minghao and spoke.

“Seungcheol, please let him talk,” Mingyu said, “He… He brought us a warning.” 

Seungcheol narrowed his eyebrows before he sat down again.

“What kind of warning?” Seungcheol asked. 

Mingyu looked back at Minghao. Minghao looked up at Mingyu, who gave him a comforting smile. Minghao took a deep breath before he looked back at Seungcheol. 

“The leader… of my group of hunters... he… he has a plan,” Minghao said. 

“What kind of plan?” Seungcheol than asked.   

And with that, Minghao started to explain what he heard, about Chan, the vervain, and their plan with it. Mingyu stood by his side, supporting Minghao when he needed it, as Seungcheol listened. As time went on, Seungcheol allowed his eyes to turn back to brown as his fangs slowly hid themselves.

“They want to keep us ‘under control’ with this ‘vervain’ they created, that they tested on Chan,” Seungcheol said, “They plan to raid next week.” 

Minghao nodded. 

“That is a big threat against us,” Seungcheol replied, “You are, however, still a hunter. This could be a ploy, a trap. How do I know I can trust you?” 

Minghao sighed. 

“I don’t have a reason to lie. The leader, my dad, he... he killed someone close to me too. He hates vampires, and  I don’t want you guys to have to pay the price because of his hatred.”

Seungcheol seemed to think for a moment. He leaned in and talked to Joshua, who looked back at Minghao before looking back at Seungcheol. 

Minghao could feel his entire body shaking. He assumed Mingyu could feel it too since he squeezed his hand in comfort once again.

He watched Seungcheol nod before looking back at Minghao. 

“Alright, Minghao, I care for my clan’s safety. Since your warning threatens that, we’re going to trust your word on this, but, if we find out you’re lying, you’ll pay for it,” Seungcheol said. 

Minghao nodded.

“Okay. Joshua, gather everyone. We have a week to prepare and a week to plan,” Seungcheol said, “Minghao, you’ll have to sit in too and give your insight too.”

“Of course,” Minghao said.

“Stand by me,” Seungcheol commanded. 

Minghao nodded as Joshua ran out of the room to gather the vampires. Mingyu stood by Minghao and gave him a soft smile. 

“I’m proud of you,” Mingyu whispered. 

Minghao blushed before he kissed Mingyu’s forehead, watching the first few vampire walk into the room. 


	29. Chapter 29

Minghao watched as Seungcheol ran around and prepared his coven for the raid of hunters that were going to raid their home. Other vampires were feeding while others were resting their strength. 

The vampires looked at him as if he were an alien. They all stared at him as he walked by. Either that or they glared at him as if everything bad that happened in the world was his fault, and Minghao knew it was. He was the reason why many of their friends were dead. 

Minghao saw that Seungcheol was done talking to one of the vampires. Minghao took the moment to walk up to him and talk to him.

“Hey, Seungcheol,” Minghao said. 

Seungcheol turned around and saw Minghao standing behind him. He froze and tried not to glare at him. 

“Hey, Minghao,” he simply replied. 

“Is there… anything else that I can help with?” Minghao asked. 

Seungcheol thought for a moment. 

“I don’t think so. You should just rest before the attack,” Seungcheol replied.

“Oh, okay,” Minghao said with a nod. 

He walked off. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he decided to look for Mingyu.

It didn't take long to find him. Minghao found him in his room. He was drinking from a blood bag while looking through his phone. He smiled, reading whatever was on his phone. 

“Hey,” Minghao said. 

Mingyu looked up and smiled.

“Hey,” he replied, locking his phone, “This news is ridiculous. Do you humans really argue over small things like this? Finding a good president seems like a big deal to you all.” 

Minghao shrugged. 

“I guess? I never did. I was too busy with… you know, hunter stuff to really understand and care about it.” 

Mingyu finished his blood bag before he put it down. He walked to Minghao and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around Minghao’s waist as Minghao hooked his arms under Mingyu’s and hugged him back. Minghao rested his head on Mingyu’s chest and sighed. It was something he wanted to do for a while. 

“How are you?” Mingyu asked. 

“Fine, I think,” Minghao replied, “I just… I hope everything will be okay. I hope Seungcheol grows to trust me. And if he doesn't, I understand why. I wouldn't want to trust someone like me either.” 

“Baby, he will. I promise,” Mingyu asked, “But what else is wrong? I know something else is bothering you; I want to help you.” 

Minghao sighed. He grew to learn that he could never hide things from Mingyu. Mingyu could read him very well.  

Minghao couldn’t help but feel bad for everything that was happening around them. Every vampire was preparing to fight off this attack. Those hunters were preparing as well and ready to risk their lives. He was very aware that hunters and vampires could die.

If he hadn’t sneaked around so much, he would’ve known about the vervain sooner. He would’ve been able to stop his father or convince Mingyu’s coven to help him and fight them off. Instead, everyone was getting ready to fight. 

“Everything is my fault,” Minghao blurted out. 

Mingyu furrowed his eyebrows. 

“How?”’ He asked. 

“I was too busy being with you. If I hadn't skipped out on the meetings or ditched when my dad needed me, I would've known earlier. I could've stopped all of this. Now, hunters and vampires could die because of me. Now, I have to live with those deaths, just like I have to live with Junhui’s,” Minghao rushed. 

Mingyu pulled Minghao in and held him close. Minghao’s breaths became shaky; Mingyu rubbed in back, comfortably, to help him calm down.

“Minghao, this isn't your fault. None of this is your fault. Regardless of what happened, you father would've gone through with this, whether you knew earlier or not. The same thing would've happened, just a different place in time. We can't change what happened. We just have to face it.”

“It’s still my fault though,” Minghao said.

“It’s not. It isn’t now and it never will be,” Mingyu insisted. 

“O-Okay,” Minghao said, taking Mingyu’s comforting words in. 

“Also, Hao, I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about you, in general. We’ve been busy with preparing that I haven't been able to ask how you are, with school and life and such.” 

“Oh,” Minghao replied, “Well, for starters, I um… I withdrew from my classes.” 

Mingyu slightly pulled away; he looked at Minghao with furrowed eyebrows. 

“What? Why? How long ago?” Mingyu asked. 

“About a month ago. I did it because… well, life got crazy,” Minghao replied with a sigh, “Things with my dad were going downhill, we were busy hiding, I was busy wanting to spend every second of my free time with you. I was having trouble keeping up with my school work… so I just… withdrew.” 

“Oh,” Mingyu softly replied, “What about your clothing designs? And your pictures?” 

“I haven’t had time for either of those. Again, I’ve been busy. My designs and my camera is hidden away for now until things blow over. Now, I have to get them and pack everything else up too.”

“Wait… What? Minghao… what happened?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao sighed.

“My father and I… we had another argument. It was my final straw. I couldn’t deal with him anymore, so I told him I was done being a hunter, and that I was leaving and that I wasn’t going back,” he replied.

“Oh? Where are you going to go?” Mingyu asked. 

“I’m not sure,” Minghao replied, “I didn’t think that far ahead. I just needed to get out of there. I might get a job and try to make enough to rent a dorm on campus, well, if I decide to go back. I might rent a place close by to you. I… I might go back to China and start over,” Minghao replied, “But I don’t think that last option is going to even be an option in the future.”

“Why not?” Mingyu asked. 

“It means that I’d have to leave you behind,” Minghao replied, “And I’m not willing to do that. I know you wouldn’t come with because of your loyalty to your coven, and I wouldn’t be as willing to stay behind. I don’t want to leave you, Mingyu, so I’ll settle for a place here.” 

“Or… I have a better option,” Mingyu said. 

“Which is what?” Minghao asked. 

“Well… I was thinking that… that you could move in with me,” Mingyu suggested.

Minghao’s eyes widened. 

“What?” 

“I know we haven’t been dating very long, and that all of this is very sudden, but I know that… that I just… I always want to be with you. I know that I wouldn’t have asked or even thought about it if it didn’t feel right, but it does. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Besides, you already spend almost every night here anyway. You might as well move in,” Mingyu replied. 

“I can’t, Mingyu. Seungcheol and the other vampires will never accept me. You’ve seen how they look at me now. They look at me like I’m the villain, like I’m the one that caused all of this. I’ll be treated like an outcast,” Minghao said. 

“They will, once they see how your warning was crucial, and that you really did help and save us. They will see you as one of the good ones and will accept you. Seungcheol will see, and he’ll accept you. I know he will. If the other vampires don’t approve, I will make them. You’re important to me, Minghao, and I want you to know that,” Mingyu told him. 

Mingyu paused. 

“Xu Minghao, when this all blows over, and we’re at peace, will you move in with me, despite all the shit we’ll go through?” 

Minghao looked up at Mingyu; He gave him a soft smile.

“You’re important to me too, Gyu,” Minghao softly replied, “I would love to move in with you.”

Mingyu smiled before he leaned in and connected his lips with Minghao’s. Minghao gasped before he smiled against Mingyu’s lips and kissed back. He moved his arms so they rested around Mingyu’s neck. He could feel Mingyu tighten his grip on his waist and pull him closer as they kissed.

The butterflies flew crazily in his stomach. His heart pounded against his chest, and his lips constantly moved against Mingyu’s, eager and almost desperate to taste Mingyu’s lips. He could tell Mingyu felt the same way because of how Mingyu attacked his lips and poured his all into it, as if he wanted to say how much he loved Mingyu, and that this kiss was the only way to tell him.

Minghao heard the door open; he heard someone clear their throat. Minghao pulled away to see Seokmin standing in the doorway.

“Oh, Seokmin?” Mingyu asked. 

“Seungcheol… he said that Wonwoo hears their footsteps. We should get ready to fight,” he said. 

Minghao nodded before he pulled away from Mingyu. Seokmin started to walk off. Before he could do the same, he turned back to Mingyu. 

“Meet with me after all of this is over?” He asked. 

“Yeah of course,” Mingyu said, “Then, we can talk about you going back to school and becoming the best fashion photographer in the world.” 

Minghao softly laughed. 

“Yeah.” 

Minghao then grabbed a hold of his weapons as Mingyu started to prepare himself. The two started to walk off and prepare for battle. 


	30. Chapter 30

Minghao walked downstairs with Mingyu. He saw that the vampires were ready and waiting to fight. Seungcheol was watching them and making sure they were ready. 

“Remember, this is a threat against our safety. We are not killing any of them. We are avoiding the weapon and driving them away,” Seungcheol reminded everyone. 

Everyone nodded. 

Once Seungcheol checked the last vampire, he looked at everyone and cleared his throat. 

“Alright, remember your positions. I want vampires surrounding the house in every direction. Hide when you can. Simply take down the hunter; don’t kill them. Remember how I taught you to do it the right way. Also, be careful around them. We don’t know what form this comes in. Your abilities will really come into use,” Seungcheol replied, “Understand?” 

Everyone nodded again. 

Seungcheol perked up again. His eyes flashed red as he tilted his head down. Minghao looked over and Mingyu and saw that his eyes were the same shade of red. 

“They’re here, aren’t they?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah,” Mingyu replied, “I’ll be in the front of the house if you want to find me.”  

Minghao nodded. Mingyu then turned to Minghao and gave him one last kiss before he ran off with a group of other vampires. Minghao then watched as the rest of the vampires went to their given positions. 

Seungcheol then looked at him. 

“You’re just going to walk around and check our status and the hunters’ status. If anything seems out of the ordinary, report it to the vampire nearest you. They’ll report it to me,” he told Minghao. 

Minghao nodded. 

Seungcheol took a deep breath. 

“Good luck, Xu Minghao,” he said.

He quickly kissed Joshua, who was standing next to him, and ran off. Joshua started to gather more blood bags as Minghao readied his crossbow and his stakes. 

“Are you ready for this?” Joshua softly asked, “This is like… betraying everything you believed in. I can imagine it would be hard.” 

“I don’t mind. Everything I believed in was wrong. It’s time I stand up for something right,” Minghao replied. 

Joshua gave him a soft smile. 

“Maybe when this is all over, we can go out for some lunch,”Joshua said, “You’re not bad, for being one of those hunters. I would like to know you more… as a friend.” 

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Minghao said with a soft smile. 

Joshua finished gathering the blood bags. He stretched before he prepared to run. 

“Well, I’ll see you later,” Joshua said, before he ran off. 

Minghao took a deep breath before he ran outside and hid. He looked around to see that vampires were in their gathered spots. Groups of hunters travelled together, carrying a ball of metal. Minghao had been sneaking into the hunter house to see more of the weapon, and he could only assume that there were syringes under their jackets too.

He had to get that information to Seungcheol. Luckily for him, there was a vampire that was hiding by the house. 

“Hey,” Minghao whispered. 

The vampire looked to his right and saw Minghao. He raised an eyebrow; Minghao motioned for him to go over. The vampire followed and hid with Minghao. 

“Wonwoo, right?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah,” Wonwoo replied, “What is it?” 

“Look at that group of hunters,” Minghao said, pointing to the same group of hunters.

Wonwoo followed his finger. 

“What about them?” 

“Those metal balls they’re carrying… that has the vervain in it. I saw them make it. It explodes like a bomb and creates a smoke cloud. They just have to aim it at a vampire; it’s enough to immobilize them and their abilities,” Minghao explained.

“Oh,” Wonwoo replied, “Anything else you need me to get to Seungcheol?” 

“Yeah. There’s a liquid form too. I saw them filling syringes with it. There’s no doubt that there are syringes under their jackets,” Minghao added. 

Wonwoo nodded. 

“Okay. I’ll get it to Seungcheol. He’ll get it to the rest of the vampires. Thanks.”

Minghao nodded before Wonwoo ran off. He heard a yell and saw that a group of hunters found their first vampire. Their started to fight, but the vampire was much faster. He was able to dodge the bombs and used his agility to his advantage. Minghao wasn’t worried about him, so he walked off to find someone else. 

The next vampire was the same. This battle was a vampire against two hunters. The hunters were throwing stakes at the vampire, trying to pin him down. The taller hunters left and hid, leaving the smaller hunter. Minghao recognized one of the hunters as Samuel, who was significantly better at his aim. The vampire, however, was able to dodge his bullets. He ran up to Samuel knocked his gun away before pinning him down. He looked ready to kill him. 

Minghao’s eyes widened before he ran over. Once he reached over, he put his hand on the vampire’s shoulder. The vampire looked back at him, his eyes red and his fangs showing. 

“Seungcheol told us not to kill,” Minghao whispered. 

“I don’t care. This hunter is still part of the group that killed my brother. They need to pay,” he sneered. 

“This one only joined a year ago. He’s still just a kid. He hasn’t killed a vampire yet, so he’s not at fault for your brother. Don’t pin his death on a hunter that didn’t kill him,” Minghao said. 

The vampire hesitated before he let him go. Samuel looked surprised at the vampire and Minghao. 

“You got this,” Minghao told the vampire.

The vampire gave Minghao a small smirk. The vampire suddenly turned around and caught a stake in his hand. He started to fight again. Minghao started to walk off. 

Minghao walked a bit more. He heard someone struggle; Minghao raised an eyebrow before he walked in the direction of the sound. He hid behind a tree and watched the scene. He saw Seokmin laying on the ground. He was laying on his side, gasping in pain as a hunter stood over him. Minghao could only assume that the hunter somehow successfully got the vervain into his system. 

Minghao softly gasped when he saw that the hunter was Soonyoung. He saw an anger in Soonyoung’s eyes that only appeared when he talked about his dad and how he didn’t deserve to die. He could only watch for now to see what would happen. He only hoped that he wouldn’t take his anger out on Seokmin, who had nothing to do with it. 

“My dad died at the hands of your kind, you know that?” Soonyoung said in a voice Minghao almost didn’t recognize, “He was only doing he knew was right, and yet, one of your vampires snapped his neck with no mercy.” 

Seokmin could only whimper in pain. 

“I swore to myself that I would make you suffer for killing him and leaving me without him at the age of thirteen,” Soonyoung hissed, “And now, the moment is here. I’m going to avenge my dad and the death he didn’t deserve.” 

Minghao had to think fast. He knew it wasn’t right for Soonyoung to blame Seokmin; it wasn’t his fault. He knew the vampire that killed his mom and Soonyoung’s dad, and it definitely wasn’t any vampire in this coven. He had to stop him. Minghao then grabbed a small stake from the shoulder strap that held his stakes and put one into his crossbow. 

He aimed for Soonyoung’s leg. It wouldn’t hurt him too much, but it would be enough to temporarily paralyze him. He took a deep breath. He hated to do this to Soonyoung, someone who had been there for him and kept all his secrets, but he knew Seokmin didn’t deserve to be at the end of Soonyoung’s rage. 

He aimed and, without hesitation, he let the stake fly. Just like Minghao had intended it, it flew into Soonyoung’s leg. Soonyoung yelled in pain. He dropped his stake before he fell to the ground. Minghao took the moment to run out. He checked on Seokmin.

“Seokmin, how much did he get into you?” Minghao asked. 

“A-A syringe,” Seokmin said before he winced, “It hurts. M-My head is s-spinning. I-I'm not healing.” 

“Yeah, those are the effects,” Minghao said with a sigh, “I’m going to get you back to the house. Joshua has some blood bags set up.” 

Seokmin slowly nodded. Minghao bent down and put his arm around Seokmin’s shoulder. Minghao stood up and helped Seokmin stand as well. Before he could walk off, he heard Soonyoung’s voice. He looked back and saw Soonyoung staring directly at him.

“Minghao, why?” 

“I’m done helping my father,” Minghao replied, looking back at Minghao, “Besides, these vampires have suffered more death than us. They don’t deserve this.” 

And with that, he helped Seokmin walk in. He ran into Wonwoo, who ran up to him and helped him. Once they got to the house, Wonwoo opened the door. 

“Help him inside. I need to check on Mingyu.” 

“Okay, go.” 

And with that, Minghao closed door behind him and ran towards the direction of where Mingyu said he would be. 


	31. Chapter 31

Mingyu ran around, helping vampires that needed them and stopping hunters that tried to hurt them. Seungcheol had trained them all well. They were all very aware of their abilities and their capabilities. They were able to fight them off well enough that many of the hunters had retreated. 

Mingyu had just finished helping Chan with a vampire. Mingyu helped put the hunter down as Chan stood over him. 

“You’re good now?” Mingyu asked. 

“Yeah, of course,” Chan said, “Thanks, Mingyu.” 

“Yeah,” Mingyu replied, “I just… I feel bad that I’m the one that got you kidnapped and you know first hand what effects this vervain has on you. I just want to make sure that it didn’t hurt you again.” 

Mingyu, it’s fine, really,” Chan said, “It’s not your fault that I got kidnapped. You had no way of knowing that they would be there, so please don’t feel bad.”

“O-Okay,” Mingyu said. 

“You should probably go check on the other vampires though. It looks like they’re slowing down, but you should look around, just in case,” Chan said.  

“Right,” Mingyu said, “Keep an eye on this hunter.” 

Chan nodded. Mingyu then walked off to check on the other vampires. The hunters did seemingly slow down. There weren’t as many hunters running around. They were either stopped by a vampire or they were starting to retreat. Mingyu figured it would only be a bit longer until the attack would stop, and that Mingyu could go find Minghao and hold him again. 

“Ah, look at who it is.” 

Mingyu stopped walking. He turned his head to see a man walking towards him. His eyes turned red before he turned to him. 

Mingyu recognized him. He remembered the black hair, seemingly permanent scowl, and his dark leather jacket, jeans, and boots. 

“You.” 

“Oh, so you do recognize me,” he said. 

“Of course. How could I forget?” Mingyu sneered, “You took Chan.”

“Oh, so that’s his name,” he said, “I didn’t think we were on a first-name basis. Well, let me introduce myself then. I’m Leader Xu, leader of the Seoul hunters.” 

Mingyu’s eyes widened. He remembered why, when he saw Leader Xu, his eyes seemed familiar. Minghao inherited the same eyes. They were the same, yet different. Minghao’s eyes were wide and doe-like, showing love and compassion whenever he looked at Mingyu, also hiding years of physical and emotional torment. Leader Xu’s were narrowed and seemed to glare at whatever got in his way; his eyes showed no emotion or mercy towards anyone. 

This was Minghao’s father, the one that caused all of that pain for Minghao, the one that hurt him when he didn’t go along with his plans, the one that killed his mother and Junhui. Flashbacks hit him, flashbacks of Minghao crying, shaking, and gripping onto Mingyu as if his life depended on him. He thought of times that he had to lay by Minghao to make sure he slept well and free of any nightmares. 

Minghao, his boyfriend, his sunflower, the love of his life, was broken because of the man that was standing in front of him. 

Mingyu could feel his eyes turn into a darker red. He ran forward, grabbed Leader Xu, and held him against a tree. 

“You’re Leader Xu,” Mingyu growled, “You’re the one that hurt Minghao and broke him.”

Leader Xu smirked. 

“I suppose I’m the one that did that, but I only did what I did for his own good. A vampire killed his mother and many other humans. I did it to help him.” 

“He told me that you killed her, that you’re the one that bartered his life and let that vampire snap her neck. He told me that you were the one that trained him against his will to be this hunter. He told me that you killed Junhui, someone he loved.”

“Minghao doesn’t know what he wants. He’s in a phase, believing that vampires can be good. It’s absolutely pathetic,” Leader Xu said, “It’s even more pathetic that he, I quote, ‘fell in love’ with a vampire. It’s completely impossible.” 

“You have no idea on what you’re talking about,” Mingyu hissed, “You don’t know a thing about us vampires.”

Mingyu held Leader Xu tighter against the tree. 

“I can’t believe humans are _this_ closed-minded and greedy. I don’t remember it being this way.”

“You just never knew of vampires, so you never understood it,” Leader Xu replied, “And I don’t need to know because I already know. I’ve seen it happen. I know that you’re all disgusting monsters and that my son shouldn’t be anywhere near them.” 

Suddenly, Mingyu gasped, feeling something small but sharp enter his body. He looked down at his torso and saw a syringe sticking out of his body. He watched the green liquid enter his body. His eyes widened.

_ The vervain. _

He felt his eyes turn brown again and his fangs disappeared. Leader Xu pulled out the syringe out of Mingyu's body. Mingyu felt the liquid circulate through his body. He gasped in pain as he fell to the ground. His vision started to blur as he felt his body go limp. His breathing became labored as it suddenly became harder to keep his eyes open. 

“Not so tough are you, now?” Leader Xu asked. 

Mingyu continued to breathe gasped breaths.

“All of you vampires are pathetic. You act like you’re mighty and own the ground you walk on. Now that I see that this works on the vampires here, I will share it to the rest of the hunters in Korea. Then, and only then, will we be able to keep the vampires under control.”

“Y-You won’t g-get away w-with it,” Mingyu gasped. 

Leader Xu chuckled. 

“Just watch me. It’s better we got rid of you now so you don’t fill the world with your monstrosity.” 

Leader Xu then reached into his belt. Mingyu’s eyes slightly widened as he saw Leader Xu pull out a wooden stake. He stood over Mingyu and held it up. 

“But first, I ought to get rid of you, for talking to my son and using him, making him think that he fell in love with a disgusting creature like you. Maybe this’ll teach you to stay away from Minghao,  _ forever _ .”

Minghao’s father aimed the stake, and Mingyu closed his eyes and prepared himself for the final hit.

But the impact never came.

Mingyu opened his eyes and saw that Minghao was shielding his body with his. Leader Xu’s eyes widened as he saw the same stake enter Minghao’s body; he started to bleed. Mingyu watched as Minghao pressed his fingers to his wound. He pulled his hand away and saw blood on his palm. Minghao gasped before he fell to the ground.

Mingyu begged for his mind to be playing tricks. He wanted to be told that Minghao was elsewhere and that he was okay. His mind, however, wasn’t playing tricks on him because he reached out touched Minghao. He felt Minghao’s smooth, soft skin with his fingers. 

_ It was him. _

Mingyu’s stomach dropped to the floor.

“Ming… Minghao.”

Mingyu looked up at Leader Xu; he saw a blurred version of an unreadable expression on Leader Xu’s face. 

“Minghao, what have you done?” Leader Xu asked. 

“I… I wasn’t going to let you… let you hurt anyone I... love anymore,” Minghao said. 

Before Leader Xu could reply, he heard footsteps. Mingyu heard them too. Mingyu watched as Leader Xu ran off. Minghao groaned, pressing his hand onto the wound, putting more pressure onto it.

“H-Hao,” Mingyu whispered.

“G-Gyu,” Minghao replied. 

“You’ll be o-okay. I-I promise,” Mingyu replied. 

“Yeah?” Minghao asked. 

“Yes, I swear you’ll live through this. I swear… you’ll live… and go to school… and do what… you love and… and be happy,” Mingyu replied. 

Minghao gave Mingyu a weak smile before started to cough up blood. Mingyu tried to reach him; before he could hold Minghao, he heard more footsteps run towards them. He looked up to see Wonwoo standing over him. 

“Oh, shit,” Wonwoo said. 

He stood up and yelled.

“We need to get Mingyu and Minghao back, now!”

He felt Wonwoo help him up and walk him to the house. 

“N-No,” Mingyu said, fighting Wonwoo, “I... I need to... to make sure that... that Minghao is okay.” 

“You can barely stand, Mingyu. Let the others handle him,” Wonwoo said.

Mingyu started to speak up. 

“Mingyu, they won’t hurt him. I promise.”

He stopped before he sighed and nodded. Mingyu watched more of the vampires run towards Minghao. He looked back and saw the vampires wrapping the wound with gauze before carrying him to the house. He turned back and focused his energy on getting back to the house. 


	32. Chapter 32

Wonwoo managed to get him inside and hand him a blood bag that Joshua had prepared for him. He felt his body start to heal again. His vision cleared; he watched as many vampires were helping others into the house and care for them while others continued to run out. He wondered what had happened since he’d gotten inside. 

Once he finished his blood bag, he started to think clearly again. He remembered Minghao, how Minghao saved him, and how he was laying on the floor, weak and bleeding. He started to stand up. His head started to spin, but he ignored it and started to walk to his room. Wonwoo reached out and grabbed him. 

“Mingyu, wait.” 

“I need to see if he’s okay.” 

“Joshua’s looking over him right now. He’ll come out with a diagnosis in a little bit. Just wait a bit longer.”

Mingyu sighed before he sat down.  

“Are you okay?” Wonwoo asked Mingyu. 

“I feel better now, thanks,” Mingyu said, “What happened?” 

“We were able to drive all of the hunters away. Once their leader ran away, they all started to retreat. Now we’re looking for the few vampires that are still out there,” Wonwoo replied.

“Oh, that’s good. Is everyone okay?”  

“For the most part, yes. The vervain really only affected you, Seokmin, and a few other vampires, so it was good to see that the effects weren’t as bad as they could’ve been.”

“Yeah.” 

“Mingyu?” 

Mingyu and Wonwoo looked up. They saw Joshua standing in the living room. His clothes were stained with blood. 

“Joshua, how is he?” Mingyu asked. 

Mingyu had hoped for good news, but the look on Joshua’s face said anything but. Joshua sighed. 

“The… the results aren’t good,” Joshua replied, “Minghao… he’s not doing well. The stake hit an important artery; he lost a lot of blood. There’s too much damage that was done. There’s… there’s nothing we can do to save him.” 

Mingyu felt his world shatter. His head started to spin again. He couldn’t accept that harsh reality. 

“No… No… please… please tell me there’s a way to save him,” Mingyu almost begged. 

“I’ve tried to think of everything. There’s just too much that we can’t fix. I’m… I’m sorry, Mingyu,” Joshua said, “He’s alive for now, but I don’t know how long he’ll be like that.” 

Joshua paused.

“You can go say your goodbyes. He’s… He’s in your room.”   

He slowly nodded before he stood up and started to walk up the stairs. 

He stumbled up the stairs; his head continued to spin. He couldn’t process it because he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to accept it. 

Minghao was dying. 

Minghao was dying because of him. 

He didn’t know what he’d do if Minghao died. Minghao had become his entire world when he first stepped into his life. Now what? How was he supposed to live without Minghao in his life? He brought so much love and happiness into his life. Mingyu didn’t want to live without it, and Mingyu hated to think that he would have to live without it now.  

He reached his room; the door was closed. Mingyu took a deep breath before he grabbed the door knob and pushed the door open. 

His heart dropped when he saw the scene in front of him. Minghao was laying on Mingyu’s bed. His hair was combed through. His jacket was off and laying on Mingyu’s dresser. He was changed into a white shirt and white sweats, His eyes were closed and had heavy bags under them. Mingyu could hear how softly he was breathing.

Mingyu closed the door behind him. He grabbed a chair that was in his room and pulled it so it was by Minghao’s side. He sat down in the chair. He held Minghao’s hand in his. A tear started to fall down his face.

“Minghao?”

Minghao coughed.

“Minghao.”

Minghao coughed again. He slowly opened his eyes before looking up to Mingyu. He gave Mingyu a weak smile.

“Gyu,” he whispered.

“Hao,” Mingyu said, holding Minghao’s hand even tighter with both of his hands. 

Minghao’s smile turned into a small frown. 

“It’s… It’s not good, is it?”

Mingyu sighed. 

“Joshua said there’s nothing he can do. You… You’ve already lost too much blood. It’s only a matter of time before… before-”

“Before… Before I’m d-dead,” Minghao finished. 

“Y-Yeah,” Mingyu replied in a whisper, more tears starting to fall down faster on his face, “Why? Why would you do that?”

“I... I couldn’t… watch you die at… m-my father’s h-hand... l-like Junhui.”

“You... You didn’t have to.”

Minghao slowly shook his head.

“I had to... because I… I love you.”

Mingyu’s vision became blurred with tears as his breathing became uneven.

“Hao-”

“I wouldn’t have... wouldn’t have s-survived it if... if you died.”

“Hao... Hao you can’t-”

Minghao put a finger up to Mingyu’s lips.

“I did.”

Minghao then gave him a sad smile and moved his thumb to wipe a stray tear falling down Mingyu’s cheek.

“I’ll be okay.”

“But I won’t be okay. I don’t w-want to l-lose you,” Mingyu cried, “I promised you, Minghao. I-I promised you t-that you w-would live a-and l-life a-a happy life. I-I broke i-it.” 

“You didn’t,” Minghao whispered, “You… You did give me a… happy life. You gave it to me when… when you stepped into my life and… and became so adamant on… knowing me. Since then, I’ve felt more alive and… more happy, ever… ever since I lost Junhui. You didn’t b-break that promise, Mingyu. I… I didn’t need to be a photographer or… or a fashion designer to be happy. I just needed you. Everything you’ve given me… has always b-been enough.”

“You were always enough for me too,” Mingyu whispered, “I love you, sunflower.”

Minghao then let a tear fall down his cheek. He weakly reached his hand out and rested it on Mingyu’s cheek, wiping the tears that were falling down his face. Mingyu held Minghao’s face and held it close to his face.

“I love you too, Kim Mingyu, my… love, my… knight in shining armor.”

And with that, Minghao’s eyes closed. His hand pulled away and fell limp onto Mingyu’s bed as did the rest of his body. The heartbeat that belonged to the love of his life had drastically slowed down. Soft breaths left Minghao’s mouth, but they had slowed down as well. 

Minghao didn’t have much time left, which meant Mingyu didn’t have enough time to finalize his decision. He knew he would be called crazy. The other vampires would judge him. Hell, Seungcheol would probably yell at him for breaking the rules. He knew it all, but it was all trumped by one thing he was sure of: life, even an immortal one, was incomplete without Minghao.

And with that thought in mind, Mingyu let his eyes turn red and his fangs grow in. He leaned into Minghao’s neck and, without hesitation, pierced the skin with his fangs. Minghao let out a pained gasp before Mingyu released his venom into Minghao’s bloodstream.

Mingyu then pulled away and let his eyes turn brown and his fangs retract. He listened as Minghao’s breathing and heartbeat stop altogether. Mingyu let out a choked sob, wiping the tears that fell down his face. 

He held Minghao’s hands in his once again and kissed it before he started waited again. 


	33. Chapter 33

It had been a couple of hours since the incident. Vampires were still healing from the effects of the vervain and others were scanning the area that the fight took place. 

Mingyu, however, hadn’t left Mighao’s side since. For those couple of hours, he sat by Minghao’s side, still holding his hand with both of his. He nervously breathed as he continued to hold Minghao’s hand tightly in his. He still couldn’t hear Minghao’s breathing or heartbeat.

_ Had he done it too late? He was sure Minghao was still alive before he’d given Minghao his venom, so why hadn’t he woken up yet? Why was it taking longer than usual?  _

“Mingyu?” 

Mingyu looked at the door and saw Seungcheol standing in the doorway. He sighed before he looked away.

“Hey.” 

Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows before he walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He grabbed another chair and sat down next to Mingyu.

“You should say your final goodbye. We have to get rid of his body. It’s… It’s starting to smell,” Seungcheol said with a sigh. 

“W-We can’t,” Mingyu said. 

“Mingyu, you can’t, well, shouldn’t, deny it anymore. Minghao is-”

“He’s not gone,” Mingyu said.

“But… he is. Joshua said there wasn’t anything he could do to save him. How… How is he not gone? Unless… Unless…?” 

Mingyu tried to avoid Seungcheol’s gaze, but he looked up anyway and saw Seungcheol looking at him with wide eyes. 

“You gave him your venom, didn’t you?” 

Mingyu stayed silent. It was a moment later before he nodded. 

“Y-Yeah.” 

“And now you’re waiting for him to wake up?” 

Mingyu nodded.

Seungcheol stayed silent, unsure of what to say. 

He spoke up again. 

“You know my rules, Mingyu: we only turn people that has discovered the vampire world or to save those that we see potential in. You disobeyed once again, and you never have. Why did you now and have for the past six months?” Seungcheol asked.

Mingyu’s body started to shake. He gripped Minghao’s hand even tighter. 

“I... I can’t live without Minghao. When I first saw him dying, I felt the world stop. Time stopped, and I couldn’t see a future that I could be happy. When Minghao first closed his eyes... I felt... dead.”

“Oh,” Seungcheol replied, “I can understand that. Jeonghan... he was my ‘Minghao’ at one point in time. But, if that hadn’t happened... I wouldn’t have met Joshua. Joshua makes all of this worth it.”

“And you loved Jeonghan,” Mingyu reminisced, “but I can tell you love Joshua as much, probably even more.”

“Yeah,” Seungcheol said with a small smile, “I can see why you saved Minghao.”

“Yeah,” Mingyu said.   

“Well... I came in to give you a request,” Seungcheol said.

Mingyu sighed.

“I know. I’ll do a final scan of the area and make sure the traces of this fight are covered.”

“Well… I  _ was _ going to have you do that to help you get your mind off of… you know, but, now that I know you gave him your venom, and that you’re waiting for him to wake up, I’ll send Seokmin to do that,” Seungcheol said, “Now, I was um... actually wondering if you could tell me when Minghao wakes up.”

Mingyu looked up at Seungcheol with a confused look. 

“What? Why?” Mingyu asked.

“I... I want to talk to him,” Seungcheol said as he saw Mingyu’s worried face, “It’s not anything bad; I promise.”

“Oh, okay. I can do that,” Mingyu said with a nod.

“Thanks,” Seungcheol said.

And with that, Seungcheol opened the door, walked out, and closed the door behind him.

___

It was the next day when it happened. 

Mingyu was sitting by Minghao’s side, as usual, when he felt Minghao’s hand move in his. Mingyu looked down at his hands and saw Minghao’s fingers twitch. Mingyu thought his mind had been fooling him, but then he saw Minghao’s fingers twitch once again as Minghao let out a soft breath.

“Hao?” Mingyu whispered, squeezing Minghao’s hand. 

Minghao coughed. 

“Hao, I’m here,” Mingyu said.

Minghao eyes opened as he shot up from the bed. Minghao was heavily breathing as he put his hand on his chest. He looked around the room, as if he were trying to figure out where he was. 

He then looked at Mingyu. Mingyu’s eyes slightly widened, seeing that his eyes were red and he had new fangs grown in his mouth. 

His eyes turned back to brown before his new fangs hid themselves.

“Mingyu?” Minghao asked, “Where am I?” 

“You’re… You’re in my room,” Mingyu replied.

“What? How? I… I’m dead. I’m supposed to be dead. I… I am dead, aren’t I?” Minghao quickly asked.  

Mingyu nodded.

“I… I don’t feel dead, unless being dead feels like this,” Minghao said, “I just… I feel… really hungry.”

Minghao then looked around the room again. 

“Mingyu,” Minghao replied, “I… I can see so well. I can hear the vampires talking in the other room. My senses… feel different. Everything is brighter and better. Why… Why is it so much better than before?”

Minghao’s eyes then widened. 

“I’m a vampire… aren’t I?” 

Mingyu hesitated before he nodded. 

“What happened?” Minghao asked. 

“You were dying. I… I had to save you,” Mingyu replied. 

“You saved me,” Minghao whispered, “Why?” 

“I love you. Living without you is like being dead. I don’t want to live without you, Hao.”

Mingyu paused.

“I know you told me to promise to not be selfish… but I will always be selfish for you. I don’t care what the circumstances are… I will always choose you. I… I’m sorry for breaking this promise, but I won’t break another one. I promise.”   


“Don’t be sorry. I know it was a lot to ask of you.” 

Minghao sighed, but smiled.

“If I’m going to be a vampire, I at least have you by my side.”

Mingyu smiled before he leaned in and kissed Minghao again. Minghao smiled before he wrapped his arms around Mingyu’s neck and kissed Mingyu. Minghao didn’t wait long to use his new strength and pull Mingyu onto the bed. Mingyu pulled away and allowed himself to fix himself and his position; he put his arms on both sides of Minghao’s head along with putting his legs on both sides of his body as well. 

Mingyu smiled. 

“I can get used to your new vampire strength.”

Minghao smirked before he pulled Mingyu down and connected their lips once again. The two continued to kiss and taste each other over and over. They couldn’t get enough of each other. 

Mingyu pulled away from Minghao’s lips and started to kiss his jaw and leave a trail of the same soft, feather-like kisses from his jawline and down his neck, whispering “I love you” with every kiss he left on Minghao’s skin, leaving Minghao moaning with his kisses and loving words. 

Mingyu started to pull at Minghao’s shirt, but before he could, Minghao reached up and grabbed his wrist. 

“Mingyu, as much as I’d like to have sex with you… I’m a new vampire, and I’m hungry. I would like a blood bag now. Maybe after, you can teach how to be a good vampire,” Minghao said. 

“Babe, that can wait. I just got you back. I just want to hold you, hug you, kiss you, and  _ touch _ you again,” Mingyu whispered, nuzzling his head in the crook of Minghao’s neck. 

Minghao gently lifted his head up and smiled; Mingyu noticed it was borderline mischievous.

“If you don’t teach me how to be a good vampire, my father and the rest of the hunters will be after me, then you won’t be able to have do any of that with me anymore,” Minghao teased.

Mingyu playfully groaned. 

“Fine. I’ll go get you a blood bag then, my sunflower.”

Minghao smiled before he quickly kissed Mingyu’s lips. Mingyu leaned in for another kiss before he climbed off of Mingyu and ran out of the room to get a blood bag for his new, vampire boyfriend.  


	34. Chapter 34

Minghao hesitantly looked at the blood bag, the juice-shaped pouch that had a dark red liquid inside. He held it in his hands and examined it. He had been to hospitals before, so he knew what they were and what they looked like; he just had a hard time digesting the fact that this was his main tool for survival.

“Are you ready?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao hesitantly nodded. 

“Y-Yeah.”

“I know; the first time can be hard, but it gets easier after.” 

Minghao sighed before he nodded again. He allowed his new fangs to grow in. His eyes started to tingle, and he knew that meant that his eyes were changing from their usual brown to their new red. He used his fangs to rip a hole into the bag. He put his lips over the hole and started to drink.    

The taste at first was coppery and metallic. Minghao gagged, and he almost wanted to spit it out, but then the first taste passed, and it started to taste better. This bag, specifically, tasted sweet and sent a rush of energy with every gulp he took. Minghao’s slightly widened before he started to sip more. His body to fill with energy; his senses started to spark. His body kept asking for more, and more, and  _ more _ . 

Before he knew it, the feeling stopped. He looked down at the bag and saw that he had drained it completely. He pulled away from it, almost disappointed that it was already empty. He wanted more of the sweet taste, more of the energy that rushed through his veins.

He looked up at Mingyu. 

“Gyu, I want another one.”

Mingyu grabbed the empty bag from Minghao and threw it into the trash bin. 

“Sorry, Hao. You only get to have one a day. Your hunger will only get harder to control if you continue to feed.”

“But… But I’m so hungry,” Minghao whined, “Please?” 

“Hao, if you want to be a good vampire, one important thing you have to learn to do is control your hunger. It’s going to be hard, but it’ll be worth it in the end. Okay?” 

Minghao sighed. 

“Okay.” 

There was then a knock at the door. Mingyu got up from his chair and went to open the door. Mingyu opened it to reveal Seungcheol standing at the doorway. 

Minghao raised his eyebrows. 

“Seungcheol?” 

“Hey,” Seungcheol said, “Is it okay if I talk to you for a bit?” 

“Y-Yeah, of course. Come in,” Minghao replied. 

Seungcheol walked in. Mingyu gave Minghao a small smile and nod before he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Seungcheol sat in the chair that Mingyu had sat in previously. 

“Hey,” Seungcheol greeted. 

“Hey,” Minghao replied.  

“How’s the transition been for you?” 

“It’s been okay. It’s a bit weird being able to see and hear everything so clearly now, and this hunger… well, it’s manageable. I’m still hungry now, but Mingyu said I could only have one blood bag a day.” 

“Yeah, it’s our rule around here. We don’t let new vampires have more than one blood bag or feed from the vein. It might worsen the hunger and make it hard to control,” Seungcheol explained. 

“Is feeding from the vein better than feeding from blood bags?” Minghao asked. 

“It depends on the vampire. Personally, I prefer to feed from the vein because I like warm blood better. Mingyu, however, prefers blood bags. He doesn’t like the idea of hurting humans.”

“Oh,” Minghao said, “Will I be able to, one day… just to try it?” 

“Eventually. Once Mingyu and I see that you have good control over your hunger, we’ll take you out and see how you handle it. Unfortunately, it won’t be for a while because we keep new vampires in until they have control over their hunger.”

“I can understand that,” Minghao replied. 

“Yeah,” Seungcheol said, “Well, I came in here because… because I wanted to thank you.” 

“Oh? What for?” Minghao asked. 

“For giving us the warning,” Seungcheol replied, “Ever since… your father killed Jeonghan, I’ve been weary of humans. After watching your father kill Jeonghan with no mercy, I believed all humans were merciless. I stayed away from them. I told my entire coven stories and that we needed to stay away from them to avoid more deaths.”   

“I thought all humans were bad… until you came in. You gave us a warning about your father and his plans with the vervain. If you hadn’t come in, we wouldn’t have been able to prepare for the attack. We all, thankfully, made it out alive. Without you, I might have lost some vampires, and that’s something I know I wouldn’t have dealt with very well.”

“Minghao, I, again, want to thank you for your warning and helping save the vampires in my coven. Because of you, I’m reminded that not all humans are bad, and that there are some that are good.” 

“Yeah. It’s the same for vampires. It goes both ways,” Minghao replied, “Just like I grew to learn that Mingyu is one of the vampires. I could only think that there could be more like him in his coven. That’s why I took the risk to give you all the warning.” 

“I see,” Seungcheol said, “I thought you wouldn’t be a good person for Mingyu, but… it turns out… you are. You and Mingyu look very happy together. I want to thank you for making Mingyu so happy and for helping save my coven.” 

“You’re welcome,” Minghao replied, “Seungcheol, could I ask you something, if you don’t mind?” 

“No, not at all,” Seungcheol replied. 

“Who was Jeonghan to you?” 

Minghao could see Seungcheol tense up. He started to wonder if he could’ve asked Seungcheol that question. 

“You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” Minghao quickly said. 

“No, I will. You should know,” Seungcheol said. 

He paused, seemingly gathering his thoughts before he spoke. 

“Jeonghan… he was my, well, first love. We met centuries ago at a party. We started talking, and it’s history from there. We… We… We did a lot together,” Seungcheol said. 

“Like what?” Minghao asked. 

“Well, a lot. It’s centuries of memories. I wouldn’t be able to tell you all of it even if I could bring myself to tell you.”

“Well, can I see?” 

Seungcheol thought for a moment before he slowly nodded, knowing what he meant. He reached his hands out. Minghao grabbed Minghao’s hands and focused on Seungcheol’s memories, just like Mingyu taught him to. 

Suddenly, he saw flashes of memories. 

_ He saw Seungcheol, who barely changed, and Jeonghan, who seemed to change a lot. Minghao saw memories of Jeonghan with long, silver hair that eventually changed to shorter, brown hair. He saw flashes of Seungcheol touring different cities varying from Tokyo, Paris, and New York City. He saw them take pictures together. He saw them hold hands, hug, and share kisses. He saw Jeonghan sleeping on Seungcheol’s chest as Seungcheol looked down at him, lovingly, as he held what seemed like his entire world in his arms.   _

Seungcheol pulled his hands away. 

“We settled in Seoul when we decided to stop traveling. We saw how many vampires around the world struggled to control their hunger. Some never bothered to control it because they liked the power that came with it. Others never asked to be turned and had to deal with the consequences. Because we saw all of those struggling vampires, we decided to start our own coven to help and care for vampires. We, however, didn’t know we picked a bad spot, not knowing there was a group of hunters that lived to kill vampires. Because of that, and my rash decisions, Jeonghan had to pay the price,” Seungcheol said, “He was my entire world. I thought I would have him forever, and instead, I lost him all too quickly.”  

“Oh,” Minghao whispered, “But then… you found Joshua, and it looks like he makes you very happy.”

“He does. He’s the one that saved me from spiraling down; he gave me a reason to see a light in the darkness again,” Seunghcheol said. 

“That’s good to hear,” Minghao said.

Minghao’s face fell.

“I just… I didn’t know about Jeonghan. I wish I did know.” 

“It’s not something I tell many people, so don’t worry much about it,” Seungcheol replied. 

Minghao sighed.

“But I am, and I feel about it and feel worse for what happened,” he said.

Minghao paused. 

“I’m sorry that... that I let my father kill him. Now I know meant a lot to you, because of the memories I saw and how I saw you look at him. That’s how I looked at Junhui.”

“Who’s Junhui?” Seungcheol asked. 

“He… He was another vampire my father killed. He was... my friend,” Minghao replied.

Seungcheol could tell he meant more to Minghao than as a friend, but he knew Minghao wasn’t going to tell him until he was ready, so he stayed quiet and let Minghao continue.

“I’m sorry I didn’t intervene like I did with Mingyu. I know I could’ve done something, and I didn’t, and for that, I’m truly sorry. I was just... scared. My father had recently killed Junhui and I... I didn’t know what to do.”

Seungcheol gently rubbed Minghao’s back.

“Hey, don’t apologize for something you didn’t do. It wasn’t your fault.” 

Seungcheol soft smiled. 

“Maybe we have more in common than we thought we did.”

“One of them experiencing a traumatizing death of someone we loved? I guess that counts.”

Seungcheol lightly laughed.

“That, and, well, being able to stay strong even though we’ve experienced a death that broke us. That’s something I admire in the both of us.” 

“Yeah, that is pretty admirable,” Minghao replied. 

Seungcheol smiled.

“Since you were turned by Mingyu, who is a part of my coven, you are as well, and I welcome you.” 

Seungcheol put his hand out. 

“Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Choi Seungcheol, leader of this coven. If there’s any issues, come to me, and I will handle it.”

Minghao reached his hand out and shook it with his. 

“Thank you. I’m Xu Minghao, but I think you know that.”

“Welcome, Xu Minghao. I look forward to knowing you more.”


	35. Chapter 35

It had been a couple of days since Minghao turned. Minghao was finally out of bed and growing used to his new abilities along with feeding on one blood bag a day and slowly controlling his hunger.

Mingyu was happy that Minghao was a part of his clan now, but, then again, he almost wanted to keep Minghao hidden all over again. He couldn’t remember the last time a new vampire had gathered this much attention from the other vampires.

Whenever Minghao was free, a vampire would always approach him and want to get to know him. Minghao, of course, was open to knowing the other vampires (since he would quite literally be spending an eternity with them) and becoming friends with them. 

Those conversations usually led to what it was being like being a former hunter and a vampire, which Minghao didn’t mind answering at all. Mingyu knew that Minghao was slowly starting to accept his past and turn towards the future, which made him proud.

Mingyu was starting to wish all of those vampires would let him spend more time with his boyfriend. Whenever they were spending time together, another vampire would walk up and ask if he could take Minghao away. Minghao didn’t mind, and Mingyu tried to make it look the same.

So, he came up with an idea. He decided to take Minghao out and show him more of their vampire abilities (and it was not because he wanted some real alone time with Minghao. Mingyu was not going to admit that). Minghao, who was eager to be a good vampire, agreed, and hoped Seungcheol would allow him out for just this time.

Which explained why he was in the strategy room, where he was standing in front of Seungcheol, who was sitting in his chair next to Joshua, carelessly looking at and spinning his glass of blood. Mingyu knew that there was more to them than what he could do inside the house, which explained why he was trying to convince Seungcheol to bend the rules _just this once_ , so he could show Minghao.

Mingyu held Minghao’s hand, hoping Seungcheol would agree.

“Seungcheol, please.”

“I can’t break the rules for Minghao.”

“He saved the entire clan.”

“I hope you know that you can’t use that every time you want something, Mingyu.”

Mingyu groaned.

“Seungcheol, please. Minghao is a new vampire. I just want to show his more of our abilities and their capabilities. Yes, he knows all of them, but he hasn’t experienced them yet.”

“We have rules set for a reason, Mingyu. We don’t let new vampires out until they’ve learned to control their hunger. Minghao has only been a couple of days. The smells will overwhelm him and kick his hunger into overdrive.”

“I promise I’ll be by his side and watch him the entire time we’re out,” Mingyu said, “Please, Seungcheol?”

Mingyu used his best puppy eyes, the ones he knew Seungcheol couldn’t resist. Seungcheol looked at Joshua, who nodded. Seungcheol looked back at Mingyu.

“Okay, fine, but you can only be out for an hour, maximum. If you’re not back at the top of the next hour, I _will_ send out vampires to find the both of you,” Seungcheol commanded.

“Yes, of course,” Mingyu said with a quick nod, “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Seungcheol said, waving his hands, “You kids have fun. Now hurry and sneak out before any of the other vampires see you.”

Mingyu nodded before he gave Seungcheol a quick bow. He led Minghao out of the room and out of the house. Mingyu looked back at Minghao to see if he was okay. He watched as Minghao looked around, his eyes flashing from brown to red.

“You’re doing okay so far?” Mingyu asked.

“Yeah. It’s… It’s just more smells than what I’m used to,” Minghao replied.

“Okay. Well, if it gets to be too overwhelming for you, tell me, and we’ll go back into the house,” Mingyu told him.

Minghao nodded. Mingyu then squeezed Minghao’s hand before he walked them into the woods. While they kept walking in, Mingyu continually checked on him to make sure he was okay. He felt Minghao’s hand shake in his, and he started to wonder if Minghao was really doing okay.

“Minghao, are you doing alright?” Mingyu asked.

“Y-Yeah. I’m just… I’m trying to focus on you instead of the smells,” Minghao replied, “It’s a lot to handle.”

“Did you want to go back inside?” Mingyu asked.

“No, I’ll be fine,” Minghao replied, “Let’s just go.”

They continued to walk. Once Mingyu felt they were in deep enough, he stopped walking.

“So, what are you showing me today? We can’t let our hour go to waste,” Minghao said.

“You know, the basics, like vampire speed and strength, for example,” Mingyu replied.

“Oh, okay,” Minghao replied.

“So, we’ll start off with vampire speed. It’s like running, but, you know, it’s much faster,” Mingyu explained, “So, to run, you’re going to have to act like you’re about to go running. You’re going to push off with everything that you have and use all of your energy to run. The only difference with running, vampire speed, is that we don’t run out of energy. We could run all the time if we wanted, but we don’t really need to.”

Minghao nodded and started to get into a running stance.

“It’s easier if you stand like this,” Mingyu said, putting his hands on Minghao’s waist and fixing his stance.

Minghao tensed up. The skin Mingyu touched started to tingle. He felt electricity run through his body with Mingyu’s touch.

“Hao, are you okay?” Mingyu asked.

“Y-Yeah, my skin just… it’s more sensitive,” Minghao replied, “Your touch just… made me feel a spark.”

“Well, your senses are heightened now. Every sensation that pleases you is heightened and makes the rush of feeling feel even better,” Mingyu replied, “I was wondering if that was affecting you.

“It is,” Minghao said, before turning back at Mingyu and giving him a playful smile, “You didn’t think I would be able to focus with your hands on my waist did you?”

“Well, I gave it a shot. Now that I did, I don’t want to take my hands off of you,” Mingyu said, fully wrapping his arms around Minghao’s waist and pulling him closer.  

Minghao looked up at Mingyu and raised his eyebrow.

“Mingyu?”

“Hm?”

“Did you really take me outside to show me these vampire skills?”

Mingyu hesitated.

“Well… we could’ve done that too… but, that wasn’t the full reason,” Mingyu replied, “I just wanted to have you to myself for a little bit.”

“Oh, you’re _jealous_ ,” Minghao said with realization, “I’ve never seen you _this_ jealous before.”

“Because I’m used to having you to myself. Now I have to share you with everyone in the clan.” 

Minghao turned around so he faced Mingyu. He softly smiled, wrapping his arms around Mingyu’s neck.

“Don’t be jealous, love,” Minghao replied, “None of those vampires could steal me away from you. I’m all yours. Never forget that.”

Mingyu smiled and nodded. He started to lean in for a kiss, but his ears heard footsteps. He perked up as Minghao did the same.

“Did you hear that?” Minghao asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Mingyu said.

He looked deeper into the woods. His sight caught someone with someone with black hair that laid on his forehead. His brown, narrow eyes that seemed to stare at them were not filled with surprise. Minghao followed his eyeline. His eyes laid on the same person.

He softly gasped.

“Soonyoung?”

Mingyu narrowed his eyes at the person in the woods.

_Soonyoung. The one that ratted out Minghao to his father. The one that betrayed him when all Minghao ever did was trust him._

Mingyu’s eyes turned red as his fangs grew in. Before Minghao could stop him, Mingyu ran towards him. Soonyoung didn’t even have time to think before Mingyu grabbed him and pinned him against a tree.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” Mingyu growled.

Soonyoung only stared at him, fear running through his body.

“How could you? You betrayed Minghao. You exposed him to the hunters and let him be hurt by his father. Why?” Mingyu yelled.

“Gyu!”

He held a hand grab his shoulder. He was pulled back. Soonyoung fell to the ground as Mingyu turned to see Minghao staring at him with his own red eyes and fangs.

“Let him go,” Minghao said, “Let me handle this.”

Mingyu looked back at Minghao before he sighed and nodded, allowing his fangs to hide themselves and his eyes to turn back to brown. Mingyu stood by, watching Minghao let his eyes turn red and his fangs hide themselves before he bent down.

“Soonyoung?” Minghao asked.

Soonyoung looked up at him with wide eyes. Minghao hesitated before he looked away from him and took deep breaths. Mingyu knew he was fighting his hunger, and he almost offered to take his place, but Minghao took another last deep breath before he reached his hand out and helped Soonyoung up from the ground.

“Minghao,” Soonyoung breathed.

"How's your leg?" Minghao asked. 

"F-Fine," Soonyoung whispered, taking another look at Minghao, “It... It's  _is_ you, but how? I… I saw your father kill you.”

“Well… I did die, but, Mingyu gave me his venom before then. I came back as a vampire,” Minghao replied.

Soonyoung’s eyes bulged out of his head.

“Your dad won’t be happy to hear that.”

“Why does he care? He’s the one that killed me. He’s probably happy that I’m gone.”

“Minghao, that’s not the case at all,” Soonyoung said, “He didn’t mean to kill you at all. He meant to kill Mingyu, make him suffer, of sorts. He ran away to get more hunters to help bring you back to the house so we could try to save you. When he went back with some other hunters, he said that your body was gone. We all just accepted the fact that you probably died, so we mourned and moved on.”

“But your dad… he believes you’re still out there. He’s been sending out search parties. He still wants you back as a hunter, so you can take over as leader.”

“I can’t now, for obvious reasons,” Minghao replied.  

“I know… but now, it’ll be even worse for you, Mingyu, and the clan if he finds out that you’re a vampire now,” Soonyoung said.

“I figured,” Minghao said, “That’s why you can’t tell him I’m alive. Just let him send out search parties until he stops.”

“I know. I will,” Soonyoung said, “I’m sorry for telling your dad about you and Mingyu. I thought Mingyu was using you. I was scared for you, and I thought bringing in your dad would save you, but then I saw you risk your life for him. That’s when I realized how much Mingyu meant to you. I won’t tell your dad about you still being alive. Hell, I can’t trust your dad anymore after all of this happened, but I have nowhere else to go, so I have to stay with him.”

“You can always stay with us. I’m sure our clan leader would mind. He’s had a change of heart,” Minghao suggested.

“Your dad would only suspect that something is wrong, so I’ll stay there and be your person on the inside. If anything does happen, I’ll let you know,” Soonyoung said.

“Thanks,” Minghao said.

“Yeah. It’s the least I could do, after everything,” Soonyoung replied, “I should probably get back. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah,” Minghao said, “I’ll be by sometime to grab some stuff, so keep people away from my room while you can.”

“Of course.”

Soonyoung then walked off.

"Soonyoung?" Minghao called out. 

He turned back. 

"Yes?" 

"Sorry for... um, shooting you in the leg. Seokmin... he's a new vampire. He wasn't here, hell, wasn't even a vampire when they killed your father. He didn't deserve to be at the end of your rage." 

"Yeah. I understand why you did it.

Once Soonyoung was out of sight, Minghao leaned on Mingyu for support.

“Getting through that talk was hard. All I could hear was Soonyoung’s heartbeat ringing through my ears. It took all of my strength to not pounce on him and drain him,” Minghao admit.   

“Well, you didn’t, and I’m so proud of you for trying so hard to control yourself,” Mingyu said, “You wanna go back inside? I think you’ve been stretched to the limit of your self-control.”

“Yeah.”

The two held hands and walked back to their coven house.


	36. Chapter 36

After they got inside, Mingyu led Minghao to their bedroom. Once they were inside, Minghao plopped down on the bed while Mingyu closed the door. Mingyu then walked over to their newly shared bed and laid down next to Minghao. 

“Finally. There’s not as many smells stuffing my nose anymore. I can see why Seungcheol doesn’t let new vampires out of the house as early. Self-control is almost impossible,” Minghao said. 

“It is at first, but it gets easier with time. You learn tips and tricks, and it isn’t long until you know how to be better,” Mingyu said, “You know, my self-control over my hunger is good, but… there’s a certain self-control that I’ll never be able to fully control.”

Minghao raised an eyebrow before he smirked.

“And what kind of self-control would that be, Mingyu?” 

“Me around you,” Mingyu said, “I can’t control myself around you. You’re so cute and adorable; it drives me insane. I just want to hug you, kiss you, cuddle you, and hold you in my arms and keep you all to myself, all the time. I thought it was impossible for someone to be this cute until I saw you.”

“I drive you insane, Mingyu?” Minghao asked. 

“Very,” Mingyu replied. 

“And… what do you want me to do about it?” 

“I… I want you to kiss me.” 

“Gladly.” 

Minghao leaned in and connected his lips with Mingyu. Mingyu didn’t hesitate to kiss back, and Minghao was once again reminded of how much he loved kissing Mingyu. He loved how Mingyu took care of him, took things slowly, and how he always made sure Minghao was okay. 

Mingyu moved from his place on the bed and climbed on top of Minghao. He placed both of his hands on Minghao’s head while resting his legs on both sides of him. He leaned in, deepening the kiss and taking in more of Minghao as held Minghao held his face in his hands and kissed just as deeply. 

Mingyu started to hold Minghao’s shirt.

“Can I?’ 

Minghao nodded, and with his permission, Mingyu swiftly pulled off Minghao’s shirt and threw it onto the floor. He started to kiss down from his lips and down his jawline and to his neck. He left the same soft kisses moving down his chest as Minghao moaned in pleasure. 

“Gyu… can you… can we?” Minghao asked. 

“Can we what, Hao?” Mingyu asked in reply, moving up so his face aligned with Minghao’s. 

“Please, take me,” Minghao said. 

“Are… Are you sure?” Mingyu asked. 

“I’m so sure. I’m so sure that I love you and want this with you,” Minghao replied, “So please, take me.” 

Mingyu softly smiled. 

“I’d be honored.”

Mingyu then pulled off his shirt before he leaned in and kissed Minghao once again. It wasn’t long before their clothes laid abandoned on the ground. 

Their time together was filled with the two becoming one. The air was filled with moans and soft whispers of each other’s names with occasional “I love yous.” Minghao hadn’t known the feeling for a long time, but he knew he needed all of Mingyu; he wanted to see him, feel him, and kiss him for all it was worth. Mingyu was gentle; he took things slow to make sure he wasn’t hurting Minghao and constantly asked if he was okay. He always took the chance to tell him that he loved him and that he had waited a long time for a moment like this. 

Minghao wanted it too but was always scared to do it again since Junhui, but the way Mingyu took care of him made him forget all of that fear. Mingyu made him feel loved, made him feel like he would always be there to care for him. It calmed Minghao down and allowed him to enjoy the special time he had with Mingyu. 

Once Mingyu pulled out, he laid on the bed next to Minghao. The two heavily breathed. Mingyu turned to face Minghao. 

“You were incredible.”

Minghao smiled before he turned to Mingyu.

“You were so bad yourself,” Minghao replied, “I forgot what that was like.”

“I promise to never leave you disappointed,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao gave Mingyu a playful smile. 

“What did you want to do now?” Minghao asked.

Mingyu thought for a moment. He looked out his window and started to notice that the sun was starting to set. A good idea settled into his head. 

“Would you like to watch the moon with me? It’s really nice to be on the roof at night because you get a beautiful view of the moon and stars. Plus, humans are going to sleep for the night, so the temptation to feed isn’t as bad,” Mingyu said. 

Minghao smiled and nodded. The two stood up from the bed and put on clothes. They walked out of their room, avoiding anyone that could ask any raising questions. They snuck out of the front door and to the side of the house. The two looked at each other and nodded before they jumped. Once they were on the roof, Mingyu led him to the middle. They sat down, watching the sun start to set and letting the moon take its place.

They sat in silence, the sounds of their breathing being the only noise in the air.   

“I forgot to ask... what did Seungcheol talk to you about?” Mingyu asked.

Minghao looked at Mingyu, who was looking directly at him. 

“He talked about his fear and hatred for humans and that it’s changed since we’ve met. He thanked me for warning you guys and welcome me into the clan.”

“Yeah... Seungcheol is strict, but it’s because he loves us. You’ll love living under his care. It’s almost like having a dad... but also having a friend.”

“That’s good. That’s what I need right now, after everything I went through in my human life. I need some comfort, some peace, some love.”

“I can guarantee all of that.” 

Minghao softly smiled before he leaned in and placed a quick kiss on Mingyu’s forehead. He then wrapped his arms around Mingyu’s arm as he rested his head on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“This is the start of forever... isn’t it.”

“Yeah… it is,” Mingyu replied, “But we can’t exactly enjoy it yet. Your dad’s still out there, and from what Soonyoung told us, he doesn’t seem like he’s going to stop this anytime soon.”

“He’s on a giant manhunt for me. Of course, it’s not stopping anytime soon. If he finds me, hell breaks loose. Even if he doesn’t, he’s still out there. He has a weapon that he can use against vampires. He’s still going to continue his mission of killing all of the vampires, even if I’m not there,” Minghao said.

“There’s going to be a lot on our plate.”

“Yeah, but at least we have Soonyoung on our side now. He can be our insider and let us know what we need to know.”

“That’s what we need. At least he understands now.”

“Yeah, for sure.” 

At this point, there’s not telling on what can happen. Maybe it’ll all blow over.” 

Minghao scoffed. 

“My father won’t let it ‘blow over.’ He’s going to fight until he’s completed his mission. He’s been training and fighting for many years now. There’s no way he would stop now.” 

“I was trying to be optimistic, Hao, but I guess that’s not possible around you,” Mingyu joked.

“I’ve been through a lot, Gyu. I’ve experienced a lot and have learned a lot. I’m just realistic,” Minghao replied. 

“And that’s one of the things I love about you,” Mingyu replied, “I was going to say, before you so rudely interrupted me, if there’s going to be someone I want fighting by my side when the hunters break loose, it’s you. I want it to be you.” 

“Always?” 

“Forever and always.”  

Minghao smiled. He lifted his head up and met Mingyu’s lips with his. Mingyu didn’t take long to kiss back. The two leaned in and continued to kiss, wanting to taste the sweet taste of each other’s lips. Mingyu held Minghao’s chin, pulling him close and deepening the kiss. Minghao complied, putting his hands on Mingyu’s head, running his fingers through his hair as he deepened the kiss as well. 

Minghao pulled away, a tear falling down his face.

“What did I do to deserve you?” 

“You were yourself. That’s all you needed to be. I didn’t fall for you because of what you’ve done. I fell for you because of you and who you are.”

Minghao lovingly sighed. 

“I love you,” he said. 

“I love you more,” Mingyu replied. 

“I love you, times infinity.” 

“I love you times infinity, squared.” 

“That’s a really long time to love me, Hao. Are you sure you’re ready to love me for that long?” Mingyu asked. 

“Through the hard times, bullshit, fights, and, of course, through the hugs, the kisses, the sex… of course. I love you, and only you, Kim Mingyu, for infinity,” Minghao said, looking up at Mingyu, confirming his promise.

Mingyu playfully nudged Minghao. Minghao blushed before he rested his head on Mingyu’s shoulder once again.

“Forever and always really is a long time, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah, it is. I’ve been a vampire for a good amount of time now, and I still haven’t grasped the concept of it. Maybe we could figure out our forever and always together.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah,” Mingyu said, “There’s isn’t a visible or predictable end. A lot can happen between now and forever. Regardless of whatever can happen, I’m happy that it’s you that’s going to be by my side for it all, through the good and the bad.”

“I look forward to it,” Minghao replied.

Minghao scooted over, so he was closer to Mingyu, and snuggled into his body. The two watched the moon fully rise and shine brightly along with the stars that accompanied it, fully and lovingly knowing their rooftop and night sky would be the first of many. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my Gyuhao work. This took like two months to works and it's not even near close to where I want it to be... so it will probably continue to be edited haha. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> If anything doesn't make sense, please comment, and I'll fix it. I'm still trying to cover all the plot holes haha.


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